The Collective In the Dark
by StarLion
Summary: Sequel to Source of the Dark. The Muren Collective has been causing trouble for Sora's Arcology. Losing to the Arcology, the Collective makes a risky choice to keep denying the Arcology access to artefacts - but with dire consequences for all.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Welcome, readers all to The Collective in the Dark, the third installment in series.

As usual with these stories - if you don't know what an Arcology is, grab the first chapter of Master of the Dark and have a glance into the notes at the start of it. It's explained there.

I hadn't exactly planned to give this to you to read just yet, as I do sort of have other stories to work on, but I felt like being generous and releasing it a little early.  
If you were lucky enough to read the preview of this that used to be tacked on the end of Source of the Dark (it isn't there anymore) then don't, whatever you do, skip the first two chapters. While you'll recognise bits from there, I've rewritten a few parts, made changes, and generally improved it. You'll miss out on a few little things if you skip them.  
Finally, as we all know, no part of Kingdom Hearts belongs to me, with the possible exception of my new copy of the games I just got. Which will also be getting some attention from me.

Now, I've gone on talking long enough. Read on, and as usual, enjoy!

_

* * *

Prologue  
Excerpt from Section 4 of 'The biography of Grandmaster Sora – From Destiny Islands to Arcology'_

Of Grandmaster Sora, it can be said this: while he has at his disposal great and undoubtedly terrifying power, he never uses it without justification, and is rarely seen to use any more than is necessary.  
This restraint has been displayed time and again throughout his past, and continued to be shown during our many incidents with the Muren Collective.  
As readers will know, the Muren Collective has long opposed us because of our task.  
While we see it as our duty to retrieve any artefact with unusual abilities for the safety of the others and the artefact itself, they see it as outright theft. Sora himself has insisted that it is only for the protection of the artefacts, and once has said that there are indeed some artefacts that are better left where they are for the safety of others.  
Nevertheless, it is a widely held notion within the Arcology that most outside would inevitably break out in a fight for control over an artefact once it's powers were discovered, and it is this which keeps us going, despite the Collective frequently stopping only just short of killing out teams outright. The medical costs placed on us due to their interventions were taxing, to say the least. Had our Arcology not been self-sufficient, we would surely have been forced to turn to outside assistance – an option that would only have given them the opportunity to slow the recovery, and in turn our efforts.  
This is not to say that the state of affairs went on for long. Reluctant leader though he is, Grandmaster Sora has always been known for paying attention to all the things that happen to the Arcology and it's denizens. When the matter reached him, he swiftly took action, arranging two groups of teams.  
The first were to scout out an area, find potential ambush locations, trouble spots and retrieve other key information that would aid the second group in their missions.  
This second group of teams were the retrieval teams, trained specifically for the tracking down and recovery of artefacts, while simultaneously being ready to defend themselves from an attack by the Collective, handle any curious locals and such. Without the valuable information the reconnaissance teams brought back, the retrieval teams would have suffered far greater losses than we did.  
It is well known that foremost among these teams was the one led personally by the First Axel, a personal friend of the Grandmaster, who claims that his vast streak of successful missions and minimal losses is due to his time with Organization XIII, a disbanded and somewhat clandestine group that, as noted in the previous section of this book, was responsible for the dark taint upon our Kingdom Hearts, the source of our power.  
A bold plan was hatched by Advisor Roxas, once the Nobody of Sora, but now a complete being in his own right thanks to the discovery allowing him and others to regain or grow their own Heart.  
As we covered in the second section of this book, Sora was lured by this Organization to Castle Oblivion, where they made use of the abilities of a young girl named Naminé to alter his memories. Advisor Roxas sought her and this talent out, believing that with her aid, she and select other allies could work to alter the shared collective mind that all members of the Muren Collective are linked to.  
For a time, these new tactics worked admirably, but the Collective have shown they are not slow to adapt, nor are they stupid or unwilling. Their answer to our tactics shocked even the Grandmaster himself, but one must admit it was unexpected, and highly effective.  
With Naminé's efforts having been unsuccessful up until that point, it became clear they were going to have to come up with another plan to buy themselves time until she could take on the vast united mind of the Collective.  
Through all this, even the Grandmaster himself was unaware of a traitor in the ranks, a single member of the Arcology who was a member of the Collective, and indeed had been before either he or the Grandmaster had even heard of what at the time was still the Dark Arcology. It was through him that the Collective manipulated events in an attempt to take our collected artefacts and return them, even before Grandmaster Sora took his current post.  
We know now who that traitor is, and that he had once before been involved in treasonous acts committed against our Grandmaster. The memories of those who were present at the time will forever be haunted by what can only be called the showdown between the traitor and the Grandmaster. Suffice to say that we have more than enough evidence to confirm that it is highly unwise to cross Grandmaster Sora, for despite his youth and seeming innocence, he can be capable of extremely harsh, ruthless acts that no one should have to bear witness to.  
In the next chapter of this section, we will go into detail on these events, the steps taken to combat them, the results of these actions, and perhaps most unfortunately, the confrontation between the Grandmaster and the traitor. We must regretfully admit that our account of the even is taken from those who were present, and is accurate to the detail.  
There is much that happened before then however, so without further ado we must press on into this fourth part of the Grandmaster's biography thus far.

_Castle Oblivion_

The room had been untouched by everything that had happened since the Organization's departure.  
A sketchbook lay on a simple table in the room. Flower-like structures lined the edge of the room.  
The door, unused for a long time, was cautiously pushed open and a head poked into view, followed by it's owner.  
"I have found them," he announced, though there was no one to hear._  
-Are they intact?-_ a choral voice, heard only by him, answered.  
"It appears so. There seems to be no sign of the presence of Arcology members as yet."_  
-Be aware. Our agent was certain there would be someone coming.-_  
"If there is, they haven't arrived yet. I'm not picking up any trace of Arcology power or members anywhere in the Castle."_  
-The information was detailed. Rai Nek insisted that Sora's Arcology had dispatched members, and has their arrival logged. They must be there.-_  
"They're doing a very good job of hiding then."  
"Talking to yourself?" a new voice said. "You've been with that Collective too long, Vexen."  
"Zexion? Where are you?"  
The air behind Vexen rippled faintly, and he was pushed into one of the flower structures by an unseen force.  
"Now, Naminé!" snapped the voice Vexen had identified as Zexion's.  
Naminé appeared at the table, quickly taking up her sketchbook and completing the unfinished drawing. As she drew Vexen in a pod, it became real, a pod forming around him.  
When it was complete, Axel appeared.  
"Nicely done," he complimented them.  
"They know what we've done," Naminé warned. "I've put him to sleep, but the Collective is still in contact with him."  
"Can you use that?" he pointed at Vexen's pod.  
"Not by myself. These pods enhance what I can do, but there are limits."  
"Ienzo?"  
Ienzo stepped out from his concealment, tapping his chin thoughtfully. His ever-present lexicon was in the other hand, left open on one of the later pages.  
After a few moments consideration he replied, "I might be able to figure something out. Naminé and I can work on it back at the Arcology and you've got a mission to complete before we can do that."  
"I know. My team will be here shortly, they'll take the remaining pods to the Reliquary, and Vexen's one to your lab."  
"What will you do after?"  
"Rox pointed out an Artefact in Agrabah he wanted me to pick up," Axel answered, emphasising the capital A in Artefact. It was used to indicate a high profile or high-risk artefact. "Apparently two other teams have come back badly injured, so it's been passed up to me. And I do have a high success rate on my missions, you know," he added with a smugly confident air.  
"Having a real Heart suits you," Ienzo noted.  
"I know. You haven't changed a bit though."  
"I just don't show it as much as you do," he replied without a change in expression.

_Disney Castle  
Hall of the Cornerstone – Beneath the throne room_

Terra poked his head into the room, quickly scanning it for anyone present, then beckoned behind him as he entered. Ventus and Aqua followed.  
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Ventus murmured.  
"Why shouldn't we?"  
"I remember Sora saying something about it protecting the castle."  
"Axel told me his little gadget will do the same thing, over a larger area and protect it from even more than it is."  
"Yeah... but... stealing the Cornerstone?"  
"We're not stealing it. We're replacing it with something superior."  
"We don't even know if Axel's device actually works," Aqua pointed out. "His tests haven't exactly been the paragon of scientific accuracy."  
"Roxas assured me it would be safe. I trust him. He wouldn't authorise us to do this if he wasn't certain."  
"I don't know Terra..."  
"Stop complaining. The last thing we need is for someone to come down here and see us."  
"So you admit this is wrong then?" Ventus asked. "I mean if we have to sneak around like thieves-"  
"Will you cut that out? Honestly, what's got into you two?"  
"Ven does have a point, Terra."  
"If you want to bail out, go ahead. I'll take the Cornerstone to the Reliquary myself."  
"What if someone finds out what we've done?" Ventus persisted  
"Why would they find out?"  
"Oh, I dunno, maybe if they come down here and see it?"  
"They won't have a reason to check it. Now come on, are you going to help me shift this thing or not?"

_Twilight Town  
Sunset Terrace_

Hayner and Olette were sat watching the sunset as Pence puffed up to them. He took a few moments to catch his breath, then as he couldn't keep it to himself any longer burst out, "You gotta hear this! Remember way back, there were those guys in black who kept coming round the town?"  
"I remember," Hayner grimaced. "That blond haired guy was good with a struggle bat."  
"Yeah," Olette laughed. "He beat your record, remember?"  
"What's got them in your sights, Pence?"  
"They haven't been seen again for ages. But I reckon I saw one of them again a while back."  
"Who?"  
"Roxas – the blond guy who beat your record. When those black creatures were here, I swear I saw him, but he didn't have that black coat on."  
"So?"  
"I saw him again today, and I saw the red-haired guy too. Ever since that huge white tower appeared, I've been seeing them appear again."  
"What's so special about that?"  
"Don't you want to know why they disappeared, or why they're not wearing the coats any more?"  
"Not if it means he beats any more of my records."


	2. Chapter 2

_Sora's Arcology__  
Roxas' Intelligence Agency_

Rai Nek continued to sort the various reports that came in, showing no sign he was anyone out of the ordinary.  
Of course, to the Arcology, he wasn't anyone out of the ordinary. He was Seifer, on loan to Roxas because the First that owned him had been persuaded to give him leave.  
Not even Roxas himself knew that the Muren Collective had an agent on the inside, not only right under their noses, but at the heart of the nexus through which all of the information gathered by Sora's Arcology passed.  
The Collective took a dim view of Sora's refusal to stop taking artefacts for the Arcology's Reliquary, and an even dimmer view of his other refusal to return a number of artefacts from the Reliquary to their rightful owners. Since a number of those artefacts also belonged to the Collective, these refusals had left him with a poor reputation among them.  
Thanks to Seifer's privileged position on the inside, the Collective had been able to prevent the thefts of considerably more artefacts than before. This was especially important, now that the Collective was the only remaining significant threat to the Arcology, and Grandmaster Sora, the somewhat reluctant leader of the place, wasn't afraid to say so.  
After the Collective had attempted to stop Sora from waking up Ventus, their Rai Lon had been taken out of action, requiring significant medical aid due to the unexpected attacks made by Jamie, a fifth rank who moved from First to First within the Arcology as his various investigations required. He was it's first and only official investigator, and his track record was yet to be blemished with a single failure.  
Without Lon, the morale of the Collective had dropped considerably – they had thought him nigh unbeatable. Because of this, direct or open attempts against the Arcology or Sora himself were out of the question.  
Only three of the Rai were left on active duty now. Himself as Rai Nek, their agent on the inside. Rai Kun, the official representative and frequent diplomat in their dealings with others. And finally, Rai Mure, descendant of the Collective's founder, and frequent source of advice. She did not and refused outright to lead them in any way, but her advice was often considered the best they could ask for.  
Even if they had wanted to target Sora, the young Grandmaster had become somewhat reclusive of late, making fewer trips out of the Arcology. While he was still frequently spotted inside, handling things with his usual hands-on approach, he seldom left it now, and was also rarely seen without Kairi nearby.  
But with the information Seifer provided, the Collective was now able to make preparations to counter the teams dispatched to retrieve various artefacts. Their own teams were kept to as few members as possible, and stayed out of sight until necessary. Killing was completely forbidden, but despite this rule they had caused many of the Arcology's teams to return both empty handed, and severely injured. One had been returned to the Arcology with a message from a close friend of Rai Lon for Sora, telling him that it was a form of revenge for what had happened to him. While it hadn't been authorised by the Collective, Seifer had happened to be in the same room as Sora when he'd received the message. Roxas' description of 'Somewhat irritated' may have made the list for the understatement of the year._  
-Vexen has been captured- _the Collective mind told him.  
The Collective was unusual in this regard. They shared one mind, but remained individuals. It was like an instant phone call from and to every member at the same time. Thoughts, emotions, even entire ideas could be communicated in instants, because there was no need to use words to explain it. It was as simple as passing a piece of paper around but with thoughts instead of paper._  
-The Artefacts?-_ Seifer silently asked, continuing in his work without showing a sign of this mental communication. He'd grown quite adept at it – but he had been a part of the Collective for some time. Had it not been for them, he would never have joined the Arcology in the first place._  
-Taken. We believe Naminé will attempt to use them.-  
-Impossible. For her to affect any single one of us, she would need to affect the entire Collective. She isn't powerful enough for that.-  
-We know. Find out what you can from internal Arcology sources. We also require further assistance.-  
-I cannot take any more from the Arcology without being noticed,- _Seifer warned._  
-We know,-_ the Collective repeated. _-We plan to use Vexen's knowledge to unlock the power of darkness for ourselves.-_  
Seifer tried not to show his shocked surprise at this, looking around to make sure no one had seen him._  
-Are you insane?- _he asked incredulously. _-If any one of us used them, we would all share in the effects! You could destroy the Hearts of the entire Collective!-_  
There was no direct response from the Collective mind, but the voice of Rai Kun spoke instead. _-I call for a vote on the matter,-_ he said. _-Each voice in the Collective will have their say for or against it. We know we must resort to stronger measures in order to continue to block Sora's Arcology. Vexen's command of darkness can solve this, but as Rai Nek has told us, it is not without cost. Will the Collective permit me to tally our votes?-  
-The Collective is in agreement.-_ the Collective mind, Seifer included, stated. _-You may hold the vote.-_  
This was simply a formality. Kun would give up his own vote in the matter to be the supposedly impartial counter. Originally, only one of the Rai could do this, but in more recent times it had been decided that anyone could do it, provided they also gave up their vote on whatever matter it was.  
The result was a highly efficient democratic system. Unlike other democracies, there was no need to representation, because all were linked to one mind. Nothing was wasted. Votes could be carried out at any time, even while members slept, because their minds would still be a part of the Collective._  
-Then I ask all voices of the Collective to send their votes to me now,-_ Rai Kun ordered.  
Seifer sent his vote against it, of course. There were several minutes of silence from the entire Collective. Seifer poured himself a mug of strong coffee to try and settle his shaken nerves. That the Collective was even considering this course of action was unsettling enough. Of all of them, he was the one that had gone through the Arcology's complete archives of information on Nobodies, Heartless and Organization XIII. The entire Collective shared in what had been learned from him, but he was the one that had read it, and he knew better than any of them what would happen._  
-The votes have been tallied,-_ Rai Kun announced. _-Twenty-three thousand voting members. Nine hundred abstained. Fifteen-thousand and twenty eight votes in favour. Seven thousand and seventy-two against.-  
-The Collective has spoken,- _the Collective voice said. _-The majority is in favour. We will proceed with this course,take the risk and bear the consequences. The Collective will prevail.-_  
Seifer opened a mental line to Kun._  
-Tell me there's a mistake in the votes. Tell me you rigged it.-  
-You know me better than that, Nek. Besides, the Collective would know if I did. There is no such thing as a secret among us remember.-  
-Do you have any idea what this could do to us?-  
-Yes. The information you provided us with was very precise. I reviewed it carefully during a quiet period.-_  
Seifer tried another tack. he left it hanging._-This could potentially compromise my position here, you know.-  
-How so?-  
-Roxas, Axel and Ienzo would undoubtedly recognise the traits of a Nobody. If I lose my Heart, and with it feelings, people are going to notice the change, and if that gets noticed by any of those three...-  
-Point taken. I'll share this with the Collective. We'll develop a plan in case what you say begins to happen.-  
-I don't like being a party to this, Kun. There won't be any way to regain our Hearts after this.-  
-The three ex-nobodies in the Arcology grew their own Hearts. Even Ienzo, though not officially a part of the Arcology.-  
-There are twenty-three thousand members in the Collective at the moment, Kun.-_ he answered in a pained tone._ -The procedure they used has to be tailored to each specific person. It would take far too long.-  
-There is another alternative.-_ Kun sent him an entire thought.  
Seifer almost choked on his coffee when he examined it._  
-Don't even suggest that ever again! Good gods, are you _trying_ to give Sora a reason to let up and destroy us utterly?-_  
The Collective noticed this brief outburst, and also examined the thought._  
-Rai Nek's alarm is with merit,- _they announced. _-We do not want to give Sora that reason. It will, however, be kept as an emergency back-up plan if we cannot find any other way to return from the darkness.-_  
"At least that's something," Seifer muttered out loud. He finished his drink, then left his place to find the Overseer on duty. All these shocks were starting to get to him, and he needed a break.  
She was known for taking herself seriously, and with a suit and tied back hair, she looked the part as well.  
"Seifer," she greeted him after flicking down to his markings on the right wrist. "What is it?"  
"I've got time saved up for a long break. I'd like to take some of them now."  
She examined something on her computer, then looked back over her glasses. "You're due to finish here in just one hour. I'm sure you can remain for one hour."  
Through clenched teeth he replied, "Yes ma'am," and headed back. The implications of her simple statement meant he'd have to wait. It wasn't exactly an order, but he'd soon learned that their Overseer didn't let things get lax. He'd have to take the extra hour's work, and hope the Collective didn't give him any more bad news.  
It wasn't easy being a spy.

_Grandmaster's Quarters  
Floor 199  
Lounge_

One of the advantages of being the owner of the Arcology, Sora decided, was that he could simply delegate things to people he trusted to handle them, then kick back and relax.  
He trusted Roxas, naturally. It would be hard for him not to.  
Every now and then though, something would come along that couldn't be handed down, or he just got bored and decided to take a hand in things himself.  
But for now it was time to relax.  
Even if he delegated, he still had to read the various reports that came in.  
He'd decided to be more comfortable while he read them this time, and retreated from his office to the lounge so he could stretch out on one of the couches.  
The large room wasn't exactly to his tastes. Despite his somewhat exalted position here, he remained highly against a lot of the grandness that seemed to come with it. The uppermost three floors were exclusively his, and this meant he had huge amounts of room without much to do.  
He made the best of it though, and didn't let it bother him.  
There was a time when he'd have to be in his office doing this because of the sheer amount of paper a place like this generated. Thanks to King, the newly appointed Systems and Networks administrator for the Arcology's vast digital systems, it was much simpler now. All he needed was a pad that linked to the systems and he could do work wherever he wanted.  
There was a respectful knock at the door.  
"Come in," he called absently. The report held most of his attention, being an update from Roxas' Artefact collection task force. Effectiveness, losses, new risks, dangers and all kinds of other things. Sora might have liked to lighten his workload a bit, but some things he never let out of his sight, and the task force was one of them.  
One of his guards came in, picking his way around the various furniture in the room. Given the room's size, the furniture suggested that this was more suited to large social gatherings than a simple lounge.  
"Sir," the guard nodded to him. Sora glanced up, acknowledging him with his own now. "You have a visitor. A certain Jack Skellington."  
"Jack?" he echoed. "I wonder what he's doing here? Show him in, would you?"  
"At once," the guard replied with another nod. He'd once asked them to stop being so formal, but it hadn't really taken effect. The Grandmaster's Guards were loyal to the Grandmaster – no matter who that may have been. It was their primary responsibility to ensure his safety, and their second was to see to the needs.  
Sora had protested that he didn't need protecting. He had the keyblade, and although it wasn't on the same level as Donald, he had a bit of magic too. The Arcology itself gave him yet more power from their own Kingdom Hearts, hanging just above the Arcology.  
Because it was tied only to the Arcology and it's residents, the power behind it was so great it manifested as something the residents could use. The ranking system in place set limits on it for their own safety. Sora was perhaps the only one without any limit on his power, but he carefully limited himself as it was. Never wasting any, never over-doing things. In fact, he tried not to use it at all if he could help it.  
Jack was shown in by the Guard, accompanied by Axel. Jack, of course, looked no different to normal, but Axel had taken a considerable change in recent times. With the exception of his name, he'd discarded everything about him that marked him as one of the few remaining survivors of Organization XIII, even going so far as to take on the appearance he'd had when he was Lea, before he joined them.  
Visitors to the Arcology, with the exception of Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy, always had to be accompanied by a First when going to see Sora. When not on his own missions, Axel frequently brought them up to see him, but didn't intrude himself on Sora's discussions with them, and so remained by the door.  
"So this is where you're hiding yourself, Sora," Jack greeted him, looking about the room. "You know, it was way more creepy before you came along."  
Sora laughed. Jack loved to scare people. "I'd love to have kept it that way for you, but I had to consider everything."  
"Oh, I understand entirely. But you can still help me out again, if you're of a mind."  
"Halloween again?"  
"Well it is my responsibility, you know. Even Santa agreed on that remember?"  
"I remember. Not that you didn't look pretty funny in the Santa outfit."  
"I couldn't get used to the beard," he shook his head, then seemed to realise Sora was holding a pad. "I'm not interrupting anything important am I?"  
"No. I'm just trying to find any sign of intelligence in some of these intelligence reports," he sighed. "I'm going to have to run on down and beat some sense into some people, or at least reassign some of them."  
"Trouble?"  
"You'd think if Roxas said 'go on a stealth mission' it'd mean keeping out of sight, right?"  
"Yup, that's right."  
"Apparently one of them took that to mean 'blow a hole in the side of the castle to get in'."  
"You have to admit, it did get him in."  
"Oh I know. But it does sort of attract attention. Don't worry about it Jack, I can come back to it later. What's on your mind?"  
"I thought you'd like to join me, and use some of the power this place gives to make a Halloween to remember for years."  
"Sounds like fun," he grinned.


	3. Chapter 3

_Agrabah__  
Cave of Wonders__  
Entrance hall_

Jamie always worked alone. He preferred it that way. Several times he'd been warned it was risky, but he'd ignored the warnings and continued to take out recon missions by himself. He'd yet to run into any trouble he couldn't handle.  
The Cave of Wonders was his task today. Both Sora and Roxas had been here, and every time one had visited it, it had been different to the other times.  
Roxas had noted that on his own visits there, it had once partially collapsed in on itself after he encountered Pete, who was searching for the lamp of the Genie. He also mentioned that he'd once fought someone there, though couldn't remember who it had been, or why he'd been fighting them.  
Rough maps of each visit by each of them had been created, but Jamie discarded them after entering the Cave. It was clear that it had yet another new layout.  
It was the secret of these layouts that was to be the result of this mission. What made it survive cave in and more, rearranging itself seemingly as it wanted?  
The layout it had now was partially resemblant to parts of previous ones. Ahead of him was a great chasm, filled with pillars that rose and fell seemingly randomly. There was a pattern to them, he knew it, but he'd figure that out later.  
There were corridors set into the walls on either side of the hall that led to the far side of the chasm. They had small windows cut in at regular intervals to see into them – or out to the chasm.  
Given the information he knew about the place, he considered these a potential trap. Despite that, he warily approached one, ready for anything.  
There was a line of earthenware pots down either side of the corridor. The pots further away were a slightly darker red than the others. There didn't seem to be an explanation for their presence.  
The other corridor was checked, and seemed identical aside from everything being on opposite sides.  
He considered this, then glanced to his spear.  
Jamie's spear was unique, having been crafted by the previous Grandmaster of the Arcology, Sephiroth, specifically for him. It was completely metal, in a strange dark green that didn't quite seem to match any green seen elsewhere at all. It's tip was not a simple arrow-like design as seen on most normal spears, but was a series of sharp spikes pointed back down toward the handle on one side, and a single, unbroken sharp edge on the other. If you looked closely, you could see it was serrated.  
It was a distinctly unpleasant kind of weapon in appearance, being suited for stabbing or slashing with it's uniquely designed tip. The spiked side would be especially painful when being drawn out of an opponent as opposed to going in.  
It's true power lay in the elements infused into it, and as Jamie had recently discovered since reacquiring the Heart he'd lost shortly before meeting Sora for the first time, other things as well. It seemed to be able to tap not just the element in the forms of Fire, Ice, Water, Earth and Air, but also what he'd come to know as meta-elements, such as Light, Dark, Mind, Nature and Shadow.  
He could use these various elements in two ways now. One was to launch what Sora had called a wedge of his choice, which would take on a different appearance depending on what he chose, and have varying effects. A wedge of Darkness would completely blot out any light for a time after the wedge had passed, which was useful for blinding opponents – though it affected him too, and perhaps more inconveniently it would harm anything alive inside that didn't have some kind of affinity for the Darkness, such as Heartless or Nobodies.  
The other way of using them was to rap the end of the spear's handle on the ground beside him hard, spreading a slightly different effect out from the end. A good example of this was the Nature element, which caused plants to grow around the spear.  
In this case, he thought of Air, crouched low and gave a sharp jab forward, causing the air around the tip to solidify into the signature wedge, which quickly expanded to the width he had in mind, then shot down the corridor.  
The pots did not smash. The brighter coloured pots sprouted some very dark coloured spindly legs, which smashed holes in the pots to get out. The darker ones had blue legs, but also had a pair of scorpion like pincers in the front, a pair of glowing yellow eyes in the hole they'd come out of, and a matching scorpion tail.  
He muttered a short oath under his breath, then launched a Shadow wedge. Shadow wedges had a similar effect to ones of Darkness, but only clouded the vision of those caught inside the trailing shadows. Usefully, this one did not affect him, nor did it harm anything like the Dark one did, allowing him to break several of the pots before it cleared.  
The pots were extremely resilient, and strangely the creatures inside them vanished when they broke apart. When he came to the more scorpion like ones, using the spear's reach to stay clear of it, he realised why.  
These were both kinds of Emblem Heartless. Lacking the keyblades of either Sora or Roxas, the Hearts they released would merely take form again somewhere else, though this was hardly important right now. There shouldn't be any kind of Emblem Heartless left. Ienzo had launched a joint effort with the Arcology to collect every last one of them and restore the Hearts to their proper places.  
He finished off the last of these Heartless, then at the sounds of clicking to one side he turned to see the pots from the other corridor were also Heartless, and had decided to come to the aid of their friends.  
Not wanting to waste too much time on them, he fired a series of Light wedges at them, covering his eyes as he did so. Light wedges would deal immense damage to creatures of the Darkness like them, but had the unfortunate downside of being blindingly bright. Even with his eyes covered, he still had to wait a few moments for the last glares to fade before he could see normally again.  
With the demise of the Heartless, the pillars in the chasm had stopped moving and left an easily followed path to the other side. He brought out a small pad and made notes about the presence of Heartless, the traps and the pillars, then made his way over to the far side to continue the investigation.  
There was no door as such, merely a triangular crack in the wall, just large enough to accommodate him.  
It lead into a small square room that appeared to be empty except for four sup-_  
Three_ supporting pillars. Strangely, the pillars were not in the corners of the room, but set just inside the room, a short distance away from cracks similar to the one he'd just come through. Only the one to his right was missing a pillar. There were no ruins of a pillar, not even any evidence that there ever had been a pillar, just a small square of different tiles around what would have been the base of the pillar. Each of the others also had a matching square of tiles around them.  
Inside the square was one single tile, unmarked except for three small circle indents in a formation identical to the pillars in the room.  
Jamie paused, considerings this. Clearly it was some kind of puzzle, but for what purpose?  
A suspicion formed. Experimentally, he walked through the crack directly opposite the one he'd entered by, and entered a room that was completely identical. When he glanced back, he saw the Entrance Hall behind him – as if he'd entered this room from that one.  
A directional puzzle then. But did the arrangement of pillars point toward the correct exit, or did the missing pillar signify the exit to take instead?  
A second experiment confirmed it was the former, and this was duly noted on the pad for any retrieval teams that needed to come here to collect an artefact.  
After several similar rooms with different arrangements of pillars, he finally exited into a different chamber. It seemed like it had been mined out of the solid rock, an unusual purple coloured rock. It stretched back a ways, then opened out into a cavern.  
Jamie stopped when he entered the cavern. On the opposite side was what appeared to be a lamp matching the description of the one formerly owned by the Genie, resting on a golden plinth, but that wasn't what had made him stop.  
Lying in the center of the cavern was a matching lamp, but in a cold, teal blue. Engraved into one side was a single eye, accented in a deep purple. The symbol of the Muren Collective.  
The Collective was known for leaving these trinkets, often also artefacts, as traps for the retrieval teams. Several times they'd also been encountered on recon missions, and held the same purpose. It signified louder than words that the Collective was here.  
The spear was adjusted, and he dropped into a battle stance, ready for any tricks. The cavern appeared otherwise empty.  
He focused his mind, and launched a matching aligned wedge. Unlike the other wedges, this one he could direct with merely his thoughts. He made it sweep around the edge of the room, then down the middle, over the two lamps.  
Nothing. If there had been anyone there, the Mind wedge would have detected it.  
Without turning around, he quickly reversed the spear, closed his eyes and fired a second one of Light straight behind him.  
There was a surprised scream of agony. Looking at a wedge of light was going to do some serious damage to the eyes.  
Jamie took advantage of this, following it with two of Darkness, the first to counter the last of the Light, and the second to deal with the Collective's member or members. It wouldn't kill them, but it would hurt them.  
Or so it should have done, but as he turned to see what remained afterwards, a tall man dressed in the signature purple of the Collective strode out unharmed.  
Prior to regaining his Heart, he would have simply remarked that it was a fascinating discovery, then used the Arcology's power to return there.  
However, with a Heart came feelings, and with this sight fear began to set in.  
Jamie was adept at keeping his emotions under tight control however, and only allowed himself the shortest of moments before he quickly got clear of the ugly looking axe wielded by this member.  
Once clear, he concentrated and felt the familier tug and sharp jerk of the Arcology's power taking hold, porting him back to the Arcology. His vision blurred to grey, then cleared to show the Grey Area.  
It was not the original Grey Area that had once existed in the World that Never Was, but it was an accurate replica. The windows displayed an impressive view of the countryside outside the Arcology instead, which made the room considerably brighter than it's original counterpart, but it was otherwise identical.  
It was also where Roxas' task force came to collect and report back from missions given out by Roxas himself, who had also made the room his second office. It allowed him to do his work as one of the Arcology's two Advisors, just one rank underneath Grandmaster Sora himself, and also manage the task force.  
Roxas was working at one of the tables as usual, with various computer pads scattered about. Somehow, despite the apparent disorganized appearance, he seemed to be able to work quite efficiently.  
Jamie joined him, sitting opposite Roxas with the spear laid over his knees.  
"Report?" Roxas murmured shortly.  
"You're not going to like this Rox," Jamie replied, using the nickname only he and Axel were allowed to use.  
"Tell me something I don't know," he replied with a faint smile.  
"The cave's changed it's layout again. There were Emblem Heartless there. I recognised them from their entries in the Arcology Database. Pot Spiders and Pot Scorpions."  
"There shouldn't be any Emblem Heartless."  
"I know. There's more. After a short directional puzzle it opens into a mid-sized cave. There was a lamp there on a golden plinth, identical to the Genie's, and a second one with the Collective's symbol on it. One of their members attempted to attack me, but I blinded them with a Light wedge, then tried to keep them out the way with a Dark one. Roxas, he came out of the Darkness left by the wedge without a single scratch on him."  
"What?" he glanced up sharply. "That's impossible... unless-" he broke off.  
"I told you, you wouldn't like it," Jamie repeated quietly. "You know where they got it from, don't you?"  
"I know," Roxas replied grimly. "I _knew_ it was a mistake to leave Vexen alive."  
"You know Sora doesn't approve of killing people."  
"I wasn't planning to tell him," he answered darkly. "It's too late now. Write up your intel on the place and add it to the Database. Soon as you can; Axel's due to go there just as soon as he gets back from bringing Sora his latest visitor."  
Jamie merely nodded, getting to his feet again.


	4. Chapter 4

_Ruins outside Agrabah_

The Arcology database classified the ruins as a city that pre-dated Agrabah itself. It lay in a near-complete circle of cliffs, forming a natural barrier against sandstorms. The cause of it's destruction was not known.  
Axel was leading his team after an Artefact that had so far claimed two other teams, and both had reported interference from the Collective.  
The Artefact in question was known as the Angel's Feather – a single white feather on a necklace made, if the unlikely seeming information was true, from the solidified blood of an Angel. It's powers were completely unknown, and information beyond it's appearance was highly scarce.  
As they entered the ruins, Axel paused and to his team, "What's the latest intel?"  
"Reports of high Heartless activity," Dog reported. "Additional note from Roxas warning of the possibility of the Emblem variety. No known Collective members seen on site in the last two days."  
"What about those the teams encountered?"  
"No data available."  
"Stay sharp, boys," Axel warned. They took no offence to being called boys, they'd done this many times before. "Spread out. Three teams of three. Scott, Ben, you head to the left under Dog. Dean, I want you to take Craig and Paul to our right. Tom, you and Lee are with me. Keep in touch, and don't be afraid to give a shout for help. Any objections?" He waited a few moments, then hearing none, "Then move out."  
The three groups moved quietly through the ruins, keeping sound to a minimum despite the scrunch of the sand underfoot.  
Very little of the city was left visible, much of it buried under great dunes of sand. Axel nudged the sand aside on a partially buried corner of what appeared to be a rooftop, revealing a small sigil.  
"Lee," he murmured. The shorter of his two companions resembled Saïx from the Organization, but clearly shorter and with considerably darker hair.  
He knelt down, examining it closely, then pulled out a small brush and cleaned off the last of the sand to reveal the symbol clearer. It was a three-pointed crown, with the familiar stylized eye above each point. Instead of the spot marking the iris itself within the eye, the left showed a sun, the right a crescent moon, and the one in the middle showed what appeared to be a pair of scales.  
"It's a Muren mark," Lee quietly told Axel. "Not their usual one though."  
"The crown again?"  
Lee nodded. "Older than the others we've seen."  
"Axel!" Dog's voice called. "Heartless, from above!"  
He glanced up quickly, seeing a swarm of Emblem Heartless. He recognised them – the Darkball variety. It looked like a small black moon with three trailing points, two above, one below, and the signature yellow eyes of the Heartless.  
Just behind them was a single Heartless of a different variety, holding a purple book. A Barrier Master. As the Darkballs descended, it dropped to a higher ruin and covered them all with a barrier.  
"Take that one out first," he directed, pointing them toward the Barrier Master. "We can't hurt the others until it's separated from it's book!"  
Axel used his chakrams as he always had done, but the others wielded a variety of weaponry. He'd never stopped any of them from picking out whatever they wanted to take, as long as it didn't compromise their ability to take out Heartless. Most of them had finally settled on a weapon, and Axel had commissioned specialized versions of them that were designed specifically for taking out Heartless – but were no less effective on other targets as well.  
The Barrier Master was dispatched quickly by Dean, who used a massive two-handed sword to cleave the book and Heartless behind it in two. As it fell, the barriers did too, and they descended on the Darkballs without any delay.  
For every single one that they destroyed, it seemed like a dozen more dropped from the skies to join the battle.  
"There's too many of them," Dog called to Axel when they regrouped. "We can't keep this up for long."  
"We don't need to," Axel replied, turning to the nearest ruin behind him. "Everyone get their goggles out now – there's going to be a sandstorm any moment now."  
"I don't think so," Paul answered. "The skies aren't right for it."  
"If I say there's going to be a sandstorm, then there's damn well going to be a sandstorm!"  
Once their eyes were protected, Axel sent a blast of the Arcology's power at the ruin, sending the sand that had accumulated around and inside howling up around them.  
"Fall back," he roared over the sound of the newly raised storm. "Everyone inside, now!"  
The Darkballs were buffeted and battered by the storm, but being artificial it soon blew itself out, and they swarmed the building. Tom and Craig guarded the single window and door of the room.  
"What now?" Dog asked Axel. "We can't stay here."  
"I don't plan on staying here for long," Axel answered. "Just long enough to get us a stable route home. All these Heartless are making it difficult to create a path back with the Arcology's power."  
"What about those Dark Corridors you used to use?"  
"Do you not like having a Heart, Dog?"  
"Oh. Point taken."  
There was a rushing sound from below. Axel looked to Lee, who cleared the sand in one corner to reveal some worn stairs leading down, then glanced up to Axel.  
"Be careful," he warned.  
Lee rolled his eyes, then cleared a large enough gap to squeeze down.  
"Axel," his voice called up. "What do these Dark Corridors look like?"  
"Portals, black in the centre, purple closer to the edge. Don't tell me-"  
"There's one down here."  
There was no 'That's impossible' or 'Are you sure' from any of them. They'd been through enough retrieval missions to get that sort of thing out of them entirely.  
It was quiet for a few moments, besides the sounds of a few more Darkballs being destroyed.  
"What else is down there?" Axel asked.  
"Sand. Another Muren sigil. Same as outside, but more intact. There's some writing underneath it. No language I recognise."  
Dean glanced to Axel, but said nothing. He was their resident languages expert, and didn't need to ask aloud.  
"Clear a bit more of that sand, then everyone get down there. Craig, Tom – think you can hold them off as you come down?"  
"A sure thing," Tom grunted, smashing a Darkball with one of his two warhammers. "I could handle them blindfolded."  
"It won't come to that," Axel answered. "Shout out if anything comes through, Lee."  
"Does air count?" Lee's voice called back.  
Tom continued to hold the remains of the stairs as he dropped down with the rest of them into the room below. Oddly, the Darkballs didn't follow.  
The room was dark, but Lee had lit it up with a ball of light he held in one hand. Few Arcology members could achieve that without practice, and of those who could do it, only a handful could maintain it for as long as Lee could.  
Axel examined the Dark Corridor, confirming what it was. He didn't dare touch it himself, any more than any of his team would. Not now he had a Heart again. The darkness would harm him again now.  
Dean meanwhile peered at the strange lettering on the wall, making notes on a small pad. He flicked back and forward through them as he worked, frowning often until he finally took out a camera and snapped a picture of it.  
"Well?" Axel asked him impatiently.  
"It's very complex. I've partially translated it, but until we get back to the Arcology it'll be a waste of time me trying to translate the rest. I know parts of it, but a lot of it I'm going to need to draw on the Database for."  
"What have you got so far?"  
"It's not complete," he warned. "It might not make much sense."  
"Guess, Dean."  
"There's something about a path that mentions islands and echoes, though I can't tell what the relation between them is. It also mentions a Kingdom Key, then there's the only complete line I got, which reads, 'When the mind is dark, the Key will awaken' and that's all I've got."  
"Not very helpful."  
"Sorry, Axel. If I had more of the language memorised, I'd be able to give you a better idea of it."  
"You did your best. How are those Darkballs, Tom?"  
"They've gone," he reported after peering up. "Either they're hiding, or they've left."  
Lee caught their attention with a cry of, "There's something coming through!"  
All eyes went to the Dark Corridor.  
It seemed to push out slightly, then from it emerged a short man, dressed in the signature purple of the Muren Collective.  
"That's far enough," Axel told him as the Corridor faded out of existance, an arm over the newcomer's chest.  
"First Axel," the man identified him. "I am here as the representative of the Collective. You may know me as Rai Kun."  
"I've heard of you. Sora has a bounty on your head, so you'd better talk quickly if you don't want to be dragged back to him."  
"I have a warning for you. Cease your operations in Agrabah and the surrounding desert. Do not investigate or send anyone to investigate the writing you have seen on the wall here. Failure to meet these requirements will result in our taking steps against you."  
"Is that all?" Kun nodded. "I've got a warning for you and your Collective now. "Try to stop me, and I'll cut you down like I have all the rest. Stay out of the darkness too... you don't know what you're getting into."  
"We are fully aware of what we have gotten into," Kun answered calmly. "We obtained very complete information on the darkness from a reliable source. Your warnings are duly noted and I am asked to inform you also ignored. This room will be sealed once you have departed, and you will not be able to return. If you leave now, we guarantee you safe passage out of the ruins."  
Axel didn't take his eyes off Kun, but said, "Got it all memorized, Dean?"  
They all understood the meaning of this. It didn't ask if he had everything committed to memory – it was actually their way of asking if he needed anything else to work on his translation.  
"I got it," Dean replied.  
"Then there's no reason for us not to leave this building and resume our search for the Artefact. Move out, boys."  
"Do not search for the artefact," Kun warned.  
"Or what?" Axel asked. "You'll stop me? I never come back from a mission empty handed, and I never come back without all my boys. Got it memorized?"  
"Don't say we didn't warn you," Kun answered. He remained beside where the Corridor had been, waiting for them to leave.  
Axel was the last to climb back up to the upper floor, and as he did so the hole filled itself in again, becoming one unbroken stone slab.  
"Well?" Dog asked. "Do we leave?"  
"Are you kidding me? After what I said there? We find the Artefact, and quickly. I don't want them to have time to stop us. We spread out, and get this done sharp-like."  
"And if they do show up?"  
"Do whatever you have to, but don't bite off more than you can chew. You all know the way we work by now. Get moving, and get me the Artefact. I don't want this to be the first tarnish on our record of successes. We've got a reputation to keep up, you know."


	5. Chapter 5

_Sora's Arcology  
The Grey Area_

Unlike the Organization's Grey Area, Roxas' imitation was never lacking for activity. Teams were constantly coming and going, reports were written up and handed to him, new intel was brought in – he'd often wondered why Saïx seemed to do no work at all besides sending the rest of them on missions in the past, since taking on this project he'd seen why. The Organization had been on a far smaller scale to this though, so there he probably had more to handle than Saïx had.  
Once in a while he'd send himself off on a mission because he couldn't seem to sit around directing the teams and reading reports all the time, but mostly because he found he missed the older times when he'd just get up, get a mission and head out. He'd even started heading into Twilight Town for ice cream again when Axel returned from missions.  
As if summoned by his line of thought, Axel appeared in a blur, clearly in a foul mood. Roxas noted he held a small red case in one hand, proving that as usual he'd completed his mission. He wasn't surprised. Axel never let anything get in the way of his missions.  
Dog followed next, showing signs of being in a fight, then slowly the rest of his team began to appear, no better off than Dog. One came in carried between two others, unconscious.  
They waited tensely for a few moments, then the last member also appeared, getting flung across the room and into one wall with a loud crack.  
"Someone see to Tom," Axel murmured. "Then get yourselves all down to the Infirmary. Dean, as soon as they let you out-"  
"I know," Dean said. "I'll get on it as soon as I can."  
Axel waited until they'd left, then finally joined Roxas.  
"Here," he said wearily, handing the case over. "The Angel's Feather."  
"What happened to them?"  
"What do you think?" he half snapped. "The Collective showed up again, with Heartless on their side too. We took a pounding from them before we finally found the Artefact, and even more just trying to secure it."  
"Sounds like I'm going to have to mark Agrabah with a higher risk."  
"It's not Agrabah that's the problem, Rox. The Collective's tapping the darkness now."  
"I know. Jamie reported it just before you left. I put out a general warning to be picked up with the intel alerts, but the system's a little slow today. It hasn't reached everyone yet. What have you got Dean working on?"  
"We found a couple of the Collective's markings while we were out there. One of them was found with some writing engraved on the wall underneath it. Dean's having a bit of trouble translating it from memory, so he's going to use the Database to finish it off."  
"What did he get so far?"  
"It wasn't very complete. As I remember it there was something about islands, echoes, and a Kingdom Key. He got one complete line out of it."  
"What did it say?"  
"I don't remember, and to be honest I don't really care right now. I could do with a break."  
"You all look like you're going to get one after seeing their condition."  
"How about you? How are you holding up with all this?"  
Roxas made an indelicate sound. "Remind me never to say Saïx didn't do any work," he answered.  
"You never did get along well with this sort of thing," Axel noted. "Sure you don't need a break too?"  
"Probably. I'll get around to it at some point."  
"Don't overwork yourself again."  
"Of course not. I never overwork myself."  
"Where's Ienzo, by the way?"  
"He's taken up residence in Ansem's old mansion in Twilight Town. I thought you knew."  
"I might have forgotten. Have they made any progress?"  
"Hard to say. Ienzo doesn't have to report anything, and I generally don't disturb him unless he needs something."  
"Maybe I should pay a call on him."  
"I wouldn't. He doesn't like unexpected visitors."  
"He needs to get out more. Get him to come up and join us for ice cream in the afternoons or something."  
"I don't know that'd you'd pull him away from whatever he's up to. He's a workaholic if I ever saw one. Much like another ex-Organization member I could mention," he added slyly.  
"Me? Nah, can't be. Need me for anything anytime soon?"  
"Not really. This well-oiled machine is working well, even with the spanners the Collective keep throwing into the works."  
"Nice metaphor. I'm going to go annoy the infirmary some more so they can tell me to stop taking so many risks again."  
"Do you ever plan to listen to them?"  
"Of course not. I'd never get any work done if I did that." He stood up, stretched, then put a hand to a tender spot, wincing. "Except maybe for short times when I take a bit of a beating. I'll see you in Twilight Town later if they let me."  
"And if they don't?"  
"I'll ignore them and be there anyway," he grinned, leaving. Roxas looked after him with an amused expression. Axel never changed. He always had done things his way.  
As he left, Roxas noted Sora come in accompanied by Sand, a former First. Sora had reduced him down a first rank, the lowest in the Arcology, after he'd been involved in a fairly elaborate plot against him, and was now directly owned by Sora, instead of belonging to any First.  
In the past, first ranks had a hard time in the Arcology. Recently, Sora had taken this as a pet project of his, working on changing that. While like any other member, they had to take orders from certain members ranked higher, it was no longer allowed for just anyone to do so. They no longer had to go through the degrading habit of calling everyone 'Master' or 'Mistress' either, provided they didn't become too outspoken in their opinion of people.  
However, the one thing Sora either hadn't or couldn't change was the collar they always wore that identified them as a first rank.  
Sand was frequently the errand runner for Sora, and was often the bearer of official and important messages from him that Sora insisted were delivered with a more personal touch.  
After looking about for a few moments and taking in the scene, The two joined Roxas, who wordlessly handed Sora a pad already laden with the next round of reports that were headed up to him anyway.  
"You could at least give me a chance to finish the last load," he complained.  
"It's a big operation," Roxas shrugged. "It generates a lot of reports. What's brought you down here?"  
"A few people who I want to talk to, but firstly I need to get something out of you."  
"Me?"  
"I had an interesting message from the Reliquary's chief custodian come in not long ago. It seems Terra, Aqua and Ventus delivered them an artefact."  
"Which one?"  
"The Cornerstone."  
"What? But that's off-limits – I gave no one permission to retrieve it."  
"Apparently you did. They said you told them to."  
"I never did. They stopped showing up here to lend a hand about a week ago, and I haven't heard from them since. I just assumed they wanted a break. It's always been a voluntary thing for them anyway."  
"You haven't let anyone else give out missions have you?"  
"No. I still authorise each of them myself. Have you checked with the Database?"  
"No point," Sand told him. "The trio aren't part of the Arcology, so there's no record of any orders or authorisations you give them."  
"There has to be for the Cornerstone though," Roxas insisted. "I was very specific about it. Something should have been logged even if it was just mentioned."  
"What's this?" Sora asked curiously.  
"King's network is useful in more than one way," Roxas shrugged. "I just borrowed a few parts of it to pick up on anyone discussing certain topics, such as the Cornerstone."  
"You don't think that's an invasion of privacy?"  
"Get real, Sora," he answered seriously. "Some things are better prevented than cured, and this is one of them. Just look at what Sand did – sorry Sand, but it's true. If we'd had this in place, we'd have found out what you were doing far sooner."  
"He has a point, Grandmaster," Sand murmured.  
"I ran it past the Council before I put it in place anyway. They had a few objections, but finally agreed that if only you and I can access and alter the list of what gets watched out for then it's better in the long run. Internal Security agreed on the matter, though they weren't happy about having no access to the list. I told them they could submit a request direct to me and I'd see if it was worth putting on the list or not."  
"You should have told me about this, Roxas."  
"I'm sure the Council would have called you in on our deliberations if they thought it necessary."  
"That's not the point." He sighed, then, "Why do you keep secrets from me? First it was whatever you hired Axel and the rogues for all that time ago – which you still haven't told me about – then it was your personal intelligence agency, and now this..."  
"It gives me something to do. It's nothing personal Sora. Often I just don't feel it's worth bothering you about, and you do like to lighten your workload where you can. I'm just doing it for you."  
"Alright," he gave in. "So what got logged about the Cornerstone?"  
"I have no idea. I haven't checked the Database yet. Give me a few moments and I'll be right with you."  
He took up one of the many pads around, quickly navigating the Database's systems. He'd had a hand in designing them, and knew them better than most.  
"Something wrong?" Sora asked when Roxas frowned.  
"That's odd," he murmured in response. "There's no data at all. Not even for this conversation we're having right now."  
"Could someone have gained access to the list?"  
"On a network as vast as ours? King would be the one to ask to be certain, but I'd have to admit it's possible." He worked away some more, examining the list, then the system itself. "Got it."  
"Well?"  
"The list is intact. The system that records and logs these things isn't protected, though it's not exactly in plain sight. Someone's altered it to ignore anything to do with the Cornerstone... among other things."  
"What other things?"  
"Kingdom Keys, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, and just about anything to do with tapping the darkness."  
"Unusual list," Sand remarked. "Perhaps the Collective is related to it?"  
"I don't see how. Sora's forbidden them from entering the Arcology."  
Sora nodded, "Ienzo came up with a way to detect them and installed it above the entrances. They'll pick up on anyone who's a part of the Collective."  
"Is it connected to the network, by any chance?" Roxas asked, eyes suddenly alight.  
"I think so, why?"  
Roxas didn't answer, instead returning to the pad.  
"It looks like they haven't been tampered with," he answered finally. "At least not yet."  
Sora turned to Sand and said, "Go down to King and let him know about this. I want to know who altered Roxas' logging system, and have him see what additional security he can put in place without compromising efficiency."  
Sand nodded, quickly getting to his feet to leave.  
"Sand," Roxas called before he went too far. "Ask him to run a complete check of the security network, and see if he can find out where it thinks I've been while inside the Arcology too."  
"What are you thinking?" Sora asked.  
"Someone had to have given them the order to take the Cornerstone, and that could only have come from me. So either I've got some very specific amnesia, or there's someone who can fool the Arcology into thinking they're me."  
"Sound thinking. Go ahead Sand."


	6. Chapter 6

_Twilight Town  
Top of the Clock Tower_

Axel didn't have to look over to see who sat down beside him, wordlessly handing over an ice cream.  
"Thanks," Roxas murmured.  
"Don't mention it."  
"Just like old times, huh?"  
"Or something close to. You look worried."  
"Something came up that I don't like the sound of."  
"You don't like the sound of a lot of things, Rox."  
"Yeah, well, this one is different. There's someone in the Arcology who can fool even the Arcology itself into believing they're someone else. Even me."  
Axel gave a low whistle. "Some feat."  
"You're telling me. If it hadn't been for a few minutes at Internal Security, I could have been in trouble. Someone acting as me got Ven and his friends to steal the Cornerstone and replace it with one of your little gadgets."  
"Did it work?"  
"Axel!"  
"What? They've never had any proper field-testing. You can't expect me not to be curious."  
"It's doing just fine, though it blocks our own power too. Darkness, Light, Arcology, Collective – none of it works in that region now."  
"Must have been one of the earlier versions then. The latest ones don't block out our power any more. I guess that explains the disappearances."  
"Disappearances?"  
"Yeah, several of the early test devices we made went missing. We reported it, but there's been nothing turn up yet."  
"I could ask Jamie to look into it. You know he'll find out what happened to them no matter what."  
"Yeah. We could have done with him back in the Organization – we'd never have to do another recon again if we'd had him."  
"And put Demyx out of work? He'd complain about it constantly."  
"Demyx complained anyway. He hated doing any kind of work."  
"Sora told me once he went up against Demyx, back when the others still thought Sora was me."  
"I know, I've read about it."  
"You have? How did you manage that? He set the Database to limit information on his past to what he wanted people to see, and I know that's part of it."  
"One of the people with access it got Sora to give him permission to write his biography so far. I got the chance to look into it a few times."  
"Isn't Sora... kind of young to have a biography?"  
"You know how much he's gone through. There's enough in him to make at least three normal lifetimes of experiences. You're not all that much better, you know."  
"Hey! At least mine would make more sense than his!"  
"Oh yeah? Says who?"  
"Me, that's who. I never had a Heart for most of it, remember?"  
"Oh, I dunno. I reckon you might have had something. The number of times I saw you and Saïx clash... yeah, that hate you had for him was pretty real, I'd say." Roxas stayed silent, staring into the distance. Axel finally looked over and added, "Eat up – it'll melt if you leave it any more."  
"I know," he answered absently.  
"What's bothering you now?"  
"I keep thinking back to those times. There's holes in my memories I can't explain. It's like something's gone in and removed just her from all of my memories."  
"Her? Her who?"  
"Did I say her? I wonder why..."  
"You don't even know that?"  
Roxas shook his head. "It's like something right on the edge of my awareness... I know it's there, I know her... whoever she is, but it's just out of reach. I think she was the reason Saïx and I didn't get along well."  
"You and Saïx never got on anyway. It was his attitude, I think."  
"I dunno. Maybe that's why..." he trailed off.  
"Why what?"  
"When I left the Organization. He tried to stop me on my way out, and we fought. The only time I ever remember him drawing a weapon. Beating him up... it felt kinda good somehow. But that's impossible, right? I couldn't have felt anything."  
"It's called getting your own back. Revenge, if that makes you feel any better."  
"Not really."  
"Don't think on it too much, Rox. You'll only turn yourself into a button."  
"A... button?" he asked incredulously. "What's that meant to mean?"  
"You depress buttons, don't you?"  
"That's terrible, Axel," he laughed.

_Sora's Arcology  
Floor 20_

Dean had the image he'd snapped projected onto one wall, throwing the lettering on it twice the size of the original. A number of subtle differences in certain characters became visible, forcing him to re-translate a portion of the small amount he'd originally translated.  
With the assistance of the Database and one of the network's program specialists, a computer was now crunching it's way through the translation, pausing only periodically to ask for confirmation on certain symbols, or for a letter to be given to it clearer so it could make it out.  
When it finally finished, it replaced the projection with the completed translation:

All worlds reside in one of the three realms, either the extremes of Light and Dark, or the realm In-Between where the extremes are blurred together.  
All worlds are connected to all other worlds by their Light and their Darkness, but remain sealed from each other.  
A time will come when the Darkness shatters that, and the one chosen of Light must take up the Key of Light and seal the worlds of Light, and the one chosen of Darkness will seal those of Darkness with the Key of Darkness  
But those of In-Between may not be sealed with the Key of In-Between, sealed by either Light or Darkness.  
Not to combat the beings of Darkness or Light, but to combat the Mind that is Many was the Key of In-Between designed for.  
The Key of In-Between lays in wait for the time when it must be brought to bear against the Mind. It has chosen it's Keeper, but remains untouched by the Keeper, remaining within the Islands of the Echoes until the time is nigh.  
When the Mind is dark, the Key will awaken. The Mind will know fear when the Key awakens, and they will seek to control it, but the Key will not be controlled.  
Bring the Three Keys together, and the One Who Is Not will gain power over the Mind to turn them aside from their course.  
But be warned, if the Keeper should fall before the Key awakens, then there will be none to take up the Key, and it will accept the touch of the first to reach it.  
Should that touch be of the Mind that is Many, then must it be wrested back from them before they can destroy it, for if the Key should become no more, then the Mind will not be turned aside and must be destroyed.  
Be warned again, Keeper of the Key of Light, that the plan once thwarted will rise again through the Mind if you should fail to secure the Keeper of the Key of In-Between.  
A third time be warned, Keeper of the Key of Darkness, that the Mind does not turn on you, for the Mind will seek to trap you away as the Other Keeper of the Key of Light was trapped away.  
Make haste unto the Islands of the Echoes to find the third Key and the third Keeper before the Mind claims him as their own, and confront your own Echoes as all others must also.

Dean read the translation, then opened several searches on the Database, attempting to understand what it meant so he could rewrite it to make more sense to anyone else.

_Echo Islands  
Island of the Final Echo  
Temple of Light  
Outside the Sanctuary of the Key_

It called to him. He didn't know what it was, or why it was calling to him, but it called.  
Every day he came here. They'd stopped trying to keep him away now. Not after The Incident.  
He'd been sat in front of the door, trying to make sense of the words engraved into it. He'd never learned how to read, and was told that even if he had learned, they wouldn't make any sense to him.  
One of the sweepers had mentioned to the temple's only inhabitant and attendant, an elderly monk, that he'd been here every day. The monk had tried to pull him away from the door, and when the monk had pulled on his arm, it seemed somehow full of energy. All he had to do was swing his arm, and the monk was flung away as if from a catapult. A light had surrounded the monk afterwards for a few moments, and when he'd been examined it was found that there was no injury, no sign of what became known as The Incident at all.  
Others had worried about his growing obsession with the door, concerned that he'd forget to eat. He never forgot though. The subtle, steady call understood when he had to go away. It even reminded him so he wouldn't forget.  
He'd asked once what the words on the door meant, but no one seemed to know. He'd even once made a special trip through all five of the other islands that made up the Echo Islands, but still there was nothing.  
It called, and he learned from the call. It showed him sights of another boy on another island. That boy had two close friends, a taller boy and a young girl. They'd made a raft together, talked together, laughed together.  
It showed him their island being claimed by a strange dark cloud that seemed foreboding even to him. The boy went looking for his friends, finding the taller boy being surrounded by darkness. The darkness tried to claim the boy too, but it was driven back, beaten away by a strange weapon, a Key.  
He fought the darkness and the creatures that came from it, trying to win back his island from them, and successful as he was, it was still lost to the darkness. The boy had ended up in an unfamiliar town.  
It showed him another boy who wore black. It showed him twelve others that wore similar black. It showed him all thirteen, welcoming a fourteenth into their number. The boy became friends with that fourteenth member, but the friendship was forgotten in what happened between them.  
It had told him of many things, of creatures called the Heartless and their many forms, of Hearts and the nature of Nobodies, of replicas and memories.  
He learned more from it just by listening to the call than he did through anyone else. The call only spoke to him, only showed things to him. It had chosen him. But what was it? What had called him? Why had it chosen him?  
He hoped someday it would answer those questions, and all the others it had left him with.  
He hoped someday he'd know how to open the door and find what was on the other side.  
But mostly, he hoped it would explain why the call talked of both the boys it had shown him as his brother.


	7. Chapter 7

_Sora's Arcology  
__The Grey Area_

As a habit, Roxas rose early to prepare the next round of missions for the teams to pick up. It would have been too time consuming for them all to come directly to him over them all, so instead he made use of the Arcology's networks to make the list of available missions easily accessible to the teams. Provided with the details of who formed that particular team, it would automatically manage the missions for him. All he had to do was put up new ones periodically.  
He had some unexpected company waiting for him in the Grey Area that morning. One of the Arcology's infrequent guests, who showed up seemingly at random, seemed to be admiring the view.  
"Something I can do for you?" Roxas murmured to him.  
"I didn't think anyone else would be up at this hour," Riku replied.  
"Just me, usually. It'll be about two hours before anyone else shows up. Normally less, but Axel's on leave. He took a bit of a beating on his last mission."  
"There's something big enough to beat Axel?"  
"Only the Collective being annoying. They've started tapping the darkness."  
"That's not good."  
"Don't remind me. If the first indications are any sign, we'll be taking massive losses before long. They've even got the Heartless on their side."  
"Definitely not good. Sounds like you need a hand."  
"Any help is welcome."  
"How about some useful intel on a trio of artefacts, and the offer to retrieve them for you?"  
"What have you got?"  
"I'm not sure what they are yet. There's one in Wonderland, one in Halloween Town, and one in the Cave of Wonders in Agrabah. If what I've heard so far is true, they're badly damaged, but they do hold something in them."  
"Do you think they can be repaired?"  
"I certainly hope so. Rumours say there's a fourth in Twilight Town, but I searched there before I came up here and found no sign of it."  
"Inconvenient. Any requests on who's going with you?"  
"I can do it alone, Roxas," Riku protested. "The Collective doesn't know me."  
"You're wrong, Riku. You were there when Sora took on Rai Lon, remember? I wouldn't put it past them to know a great deal more than we suspect. Better safe than sorry."  
"You're going to insist, aren't you?"  
"Naturally. Doesn't matter if you're a guest or a member of the Arcology, I still have to authorise retrieval missions, and this is just that."  
Riku reluctantly nodded agreement. He could have ignored it, but it was often better to work with the Arcology than against or without it.  
"Anyone you trust enough to manage things here for you?" he asked eventually.  
"It pretty much runs itself once I've spent a few hours adding the day's missions. I might get behind on going through the reports again, but I can put in a bit of overtime to make up for that."  
"Overtime? You mean you actually do get paid?"  
"Of course. Energy credits, the Arcology's monetary system. There's about ten munny to a credit."  
"How much does being an Advisor pay?" he asked with mild curiosity.  
"More than enough to suit me, plus I get extra off Sora for any additional projects I take on, like this task force."  
"That begs the question of how Sora gets paid."  
"He doesn't. The Arcology has it's own tax system and economy, all it's earnings go direct to him, added on to all the other savings he and previous Grandmasters have built up."  
"Never knew that before."  
"It's not mentioned often. Most of it is handled automatically anyway, just show the markings and the credits get sent where they need to, when they need to. Simple, effective and impossible to forge. Almost impossible," he corrected, remembering that someone had fooled the system into believing they were him. "Do me a favour, Riku. Run down to Danny's café and pick me up a cup of tea, will you? Danny knows the way I have it, just tell him it's for me and he'll get one done for you."  
"What's in it for me?"  
"I'll come along with you to fetch these artefacts of yours. And it'll give me the time to sort out the days work for everyone else."  
By the time Riku returned, Roxas had colonized one of the tables with various pads Arcology members used since the addition of a widespread and mostly wireless computer network. The pads all linked to the system, allowing anyone to work from almost anywhere.  
Roxas seemed to be able to focus on at least a dozen of them at once, rearranging the pads as he worked. Figuring out why he did any of it was beyond Riku, but he was glad it wasn't his task.  
The cup was set down on a small part of free space on the table, drunk from briefly, and then there was a mumbled, distracted thanks.  
"Are you going to be long?"  
"Give me a bit more time," Roxas answered. "New intel came on on several areas. Got to update several other missions too."  
"Anything relevant to the areas we're going to?"  
"Some. Mostly just sightings of Emblem Heartless. Pink Concertos in Wonderland, Carrier Ghosts in Halloween Town, Clay Armours in and around Agrabah, reports of Zip Slashers in almost all areas, and several reports of Neoshadow activity."  
"Sounds busy."  
"You should have read Axel's report from his last mission. They got attacked by a swarm of Darkball Heartless. If his report is anything to go by, they were outnumbered at least two hundred to one, and nine of them went on that mission."  
"Not your average walk in the park then..."  
"Not really, no," Roxas answered draining his cup and tiding the pads into stacks. "That's it all sorted for now. Might have to check up on things once in a while, but it's pretty safe to leave to go by itself now."  
"Where to first then?"  
"Take your pick."  
Riku thought for a moment, then, "Wonderland is probably going to be the quickest to reach the artefact's remains, I'm told they're hidden in and around the Bizarre Room. The Cave of Wonders is going to take the longest to search, given it's size and habit of changing. Couldn't say about Halloween Town, though I can't say I like the Heartless that are showing up there.  
"Carrier Ghosts? What's wrong with them?"  
"It's the way they disappear unexpectedly – usually right before you're about to hit them."  
"Ever tried using thunder magic on them?"  
"I'm not all that big on magic, Roxas."  
"Good thing I am then. Wonderland first, then the Cave of Wonders. We'll leave your favourite Heartless to last."  
"You're too kind," Riku replied sardonically.

_Seifer's Room  
__Floor 97_

There was a knock at the door, something not done often. There was a buzzer there, after all.  
"Come on in," Seifer called to whoever it was. It turned out to be Aqua and Ventus. "Terra not with you?"  
"He's upstairs," Aqua replied. "Roxas around?"  
"You just missed him," he lied. "He let me know you'd be stopping by though, asked me to handle it. Something about a retrieval mission?"  
"The Cornerstone."  
"I thought that was off-limits myself, but if that's what he ordered... did you get it?"  
"That's where Terra is," Ventus told him.  
_-The Cornerstone has been removed,-_ Seifer told the Collective, then aloud, "Any trouble?"  
"One or two Heartless popped up before we got Axel's device active, but they were close to us because of our keyblades. Dealt with easily."  
_-Good work,- _came the response. _-Retrieve it from the Reliquary as soon as possible.-  
_"Any outside of the Hall?" Seifer asked them, and to the Collective, _-I may encounter issues. Suggest sending a team of our own to retrieve it. I can disable the internal detectors that would reveal us.-  
_"None. But on our way back, the King showed up and came in with us. He didn't say why, but he didn't look too happy. Last we saw, he was headed up to see Sora."  
_-We do not concur. The Arcology would notice the presence of a dark corridor within it's confines, and without them it would be difficult to remove it undetected.-  
__-I propose that our operatives make their way in through the Visitor's Entrance. I will assume the guise of Roxas again to get them into the Reliquary. A dark corridor may safely be used to escape in time once it is located.- _At the same time, he told them, "It's probably the outbreaks of Heartless that have been happening again. I wouldn't worry about it. I'll let Roxas know when I tell him about this for you." He absently rubbed at the side of his head. Keeping two separate conversations going was sometimes taxing.  
"We did have permission to do it, didn't we?" Ventus asked. "It's not like we were stealing it, right?"  
"Funny you should mention that, Roxas said you might bring it up. He said he got confirmation that his message had reached the King, and even had a response in favour of it before he sent you on the mission in the first place. Is there anything else I can do for you?"  
_-Are you certain you can disable the detector system for long enough?-  
__-I am a member of the Arcology,- _Seifer replied. _-I can port them directly up to the upper floors in no time.-  
_"No. Let us know if Roxas says anything else, would you?" Aqua asked. "We're going to meet Terra."  
Seifer merely nodded, watching them leave as he listened to the Collective's reply.  
_-Not reccommended. We still do not have any knowledge of the conflicts between our command over darkness, and the light of the Arcology.-  
__-I can port myself around without incident. I believe it will work without issue.-  
__-Then carry out the mission, Rai Nek. Bring us the Cornerstone. You have twenty minutes before your team arrives. Disable the detectors before then.-  
_Seifer nodded again, concentrating for several minutes. A localised patch of fog formed around him, and when it cleared he appeared identical to Roxas. Even the Arcology would identify him as Roxas. A neat fusion of the powers of the Muren Collective, the command of darkness, and the power from the Arcology. Out of all the Collective, only he could utilize all three.  
He stopped at the sole computer in the room, quickly navigating to the systems that would detect members of the Collective and opened it's whitelist – signatures it would ignore. He'd had to hide it very carefully to prevent anyone finding out it existed at all, as it hadn't been a part of the original system.  
Naturally, it contained only him, preventing him from being caught. He listened in on the Collective mind, picking up on who would be waiting for him, then added the necessary details to the list. The system would still pick up other Collective members, but ignore these few.  
It had been deemed unsafe to attempt to add any significant number to the list, as it would swell the size of the file noticeably, which in turn could lead to his being found out. Sora had issued an announcement not long after the demise of Rai Lon that anyone caught aiding the Collective would answer to him personally. It was no doubt that having to pay a call on him was still considered a fair honour because it was still rare for him to call anyone up to the uppermost four floors, but it was one he'd rather avoid, given his situation.  
The team being formed had appeared in Twilight Town, and were taking the short route to the Arcology's Visitor's Entrance right now, so he reloaded the whitelist into the detector, and headed down to meet them.

_Grandmaster's Office  
__Floor 197_

"You're all tense again, Sora," Kairi chided, stood behind his chair.  
"Not for much longer if you keep that up," he murmured after feeling her touch.  
"That was the whole idea. What's happened this time?"  
"You know I said the markings and everything couldn't be forged?"  
"Except by Sephiroth you mean?"  
"His was just an illusion that hid the real thing. If we'd had the same internal security we do now, it would have shown it was me. That wasn't a real forgery."  
"A forged forgery, huh?"  
"I guess. Anyway, someone's come up with a way that's actually managed to fool everything, right down to the Arcology itself. They lured Ven and his friends away from Roxas, pretended to be him, and then sent them on missions that neither he or I would ever have authorised."  
"Like?"  
"Like stealing the Cornerstone. It's currently sitting in my Reliquary. I don't know how I'm even going to begin to explain this to Mickey."  
"He doesn't know yet?"  
"I haven't figured out how to put it to him. He probably doesn't know about it yet," he continued, leaning back a bit further to look up at Kairi. "Axel told me one of his early prototypes – the ones that went missing – was put there in it's place. It's blocking our power, so there's no easy way to sneak in and set everything straight again."  
"You need to tell him, Sora. If he finds out first-"  
"Grandmaster, you have a visitor," a guard said, stepping into the room with a salute.  
"I wish you'd learn to knock," he complained. "Who is it?"  
"King Mickey."  
"Bugger."  
"Sora!" Kairi's voice rose effortlessly. She didn't like his choice in words sometimes, and frequently let him know about it.  
"Not now, Kairi," he headed her off. "We can argue about it later. Let me deal with this?"  
She reluctantly let him off, headed to the couch he'd left by the window, while he nodded to the guard.  
While it was sometimes difficult to say what Mickey's exact mood was, it was definitely clear he was not in one of his better moods when he was shown in. In one hand was the Star Seeker keyblade, held almost as if he was ready to fight. Sora's eyes momentarily glanced to his own keyblade on the table nearby, currently once more the Kingdom Key. He knew it'd come to him the moment he needed it, but hoped he wouldn't have to.  
"Just what do you think you're playing at, Sora?" Mickey asked him. "Heartless have been spotted throughout the castle and town, I find out the Cornerstone is missing, and that you've left some small device to do it's job in it's place?"  
"It wasn't my idea, and it wasn't authorised," Sora replied. "I've got a traitor in the Arcology, and getting to him isn't proving easy."  
"You'd better make it easy, quickly. That device isn't doing the job perfectly. Do you have any idea what I've had to do to keep the place safe?"  
"Not as yet. I only found out about the situation recently, and I'm trying to deal with it. Badgering me isn't going to make things happen any faster, so please stop waving that around."  
"No. Not until I know what's going on here."  
Sora sighed, pouring himself a fresh coffee. He offered one to Mickey, but it was clear he wasn't interested.  
"There's someone loose in the Arcology that's figured out a way to fool what we thought was a foolproof system. The system says the order was given by Roxas to retrieve the Cornerstone, and he does have the authority to do that, but it wasn't Roxas that gave the order. Someone's managed to fool it into thinking they're Roxas. I don't know how, and Internal Security is still examining the records to try and find out who it is. So far we have enough evidence to prove that it wasn't the real Roxas, because several times there have been incidents where it reports him being in two places at once."  
"And the Cornerstone?"  
"Was retrieved by Terra, with the aid of Aqua and Ventus, who were the ones our imposter Roxas sent to do just that. They had no idea it wasn't the real Roxas. The Cornerstone is, for now, sitting safe in my Reliquary. Just as soon as I figure out how to get it back to it's proper place, I'll handle it."  
"Just pick it up and do your... what did you call it?"  
"Port," Kairi supplied.  
"Thank you. Port it there."  
Sora shook his head, "It won't work. The device there is an earlier version of the ones Axel's been working on, and is blocking the Arcology's power. It was stolen along with a number of other early prototypes, and we're looking into that as well. I'm doing everything I can, Mickey, but the Cornerstone isn't exactly easy to transport without some assistance."  
Star Seeker finally vanished from Mickey's hand, which was offered to Sora. "Sorry I doubted you. But I had to find out what had happened."  
"I know. I'm pretty sure you've got it easier than I have."  
"Maybe. Can we check on the Cornerstone? Just to be sure."  
"Sure thing. Coming Kairi?"  
"You bet I am," she answered.  
They'd barely got half way to the door when the Arcology's alarms went off, and an announcement went out, "Dark Corridor detected within the Arcology – Floor 191, Reliquary Level 2!" Then moments later, "Medical emergency in the Reliquary! Paramedics required on the scene at once!"  
Sora dashed back, grabbing his Kingdom Key and passing comments about the announcements that made even Mickey look astonished at his choice. Kairi passed no comment at all this time, but looked no less disapproving.  
"Come here, both of you," he almost growled. "I'll get us there immediately."


	8. Chapter 8

_Sora's Arcology  
__Reliquary Level 2 – Floor 191_

The Reliquary was in disarray yet again. Various custodians were hurrying around, checking all the artefacts for signs of being affected by what had happened to ensure their preservation, while others attempted to repair some artefacts that had become damaged when some of the storage shelves had been pushed over. Thankfully provisions had been made for such an occurrence, and the damage done was minimal.  
The Chief Custodian, an ancient old man named Adam who had seen countless artefacts come in and many Grandmasters rise and fall, was completely unflappable as always, manning the front desk as he watched the commotion around him with his usual faint grin playing over his lips.  
Not far away, a small team of paramedics appeared on the scene, dressed in the signature medical green that seemed to be universal over many worlds and institutions. He wordlessly pointed him toward their patient, a tall young man with a white jacket that almost reached the floor, and his purple pants tucked into black boots. When the dark corridor had appeared, he'd collapsed, then gripped by convulsions and a foaming at the mouth, which was probably not good and heeded the call he'd put out for the medical attention.  
As the paramedics held him still to try to their job, Adam caught a glance at the markings, which told him he was Seifer, a fifth rank currently assigned to work directly for Roxas, marked by the same symbol used to represent Nobodies.  
Just moments later, the Grandmaster showed up. Unlike the paramedics, who had special permission to ignore the usual restrictions on porting to and from the Reliquary, he'd elected to appear just outside and make his way in on foot. Accompanying him was the young girl he recognised as Kairi, not officially a member of the Arcology, but given the close relationship with Sora... Adam wouldn't be surprised to find before long the Arcology's Grandmaster would be the fourth in it's known history to have married. They were young yet though, and Adam conceded he probably wouldn't be around long enough to see it.  
Also with him was someone who appeared to be a mouse. Anyone else not used to seeing strange sights as this might have passed comment, but Adam found that when the initial surprise of waking up to another day passed him by, anything was possible. At his age, just having another day was a fair surprise in itself.  
Sora ignored the custodians and paramedics, heading directly for him with his friends. He didn't have to ask before Adam began to explain.  
"It was a strange sight, to say the least. He came in with a group of others, told me he had authorisation from Roxas to remove the Cornerstone."  
"It didn't come from Roxas – or me," Sora interrupted.  
"Maybe not, but the system thinks it did. At any rate, the others with him gathered around the Cornerstone, then a dark corridor claimed the lot of them, and the Cornerstone along with it, and Seifer there fell slightly unwell."  
Sora glanced over at Seifer, who despite the best efforts of the medics was still thrashing around. The foaming had stopped, at least.  
"That's slightly unwell? Any idea what happened to him?"  
"Not in the slightest. I'd ask them if I were you."  
"And the dark corridor?"  
"If you're asking me where it led, I'm just as clueless. I know about them, but I don't know of any way to figure out their destinations."  
"I thought you said it was safe," the mouse asked him accusingly.  
"It was safe," Sora answered. "Most people are sensible enough not to try to steal from me. The real question is, who took it? The dark corridor suggests the Collective, but there are systems in place that would detect their presence within the Arcology, and they haven't been triggered. Roxas and Axel both found out that any member of the Arcology who can control the darkness has that ability overruled because of our Kingdom Hearts, and it can't be any guest of the Arcology because they're not allowed into the Reliquary."  
"Could it be the whoever managed to fool your systems?"  
"Possibly, but they'd have to be here in person, and it still doesn't explain who the others with him were."  
Kairi glanced over to the medics, who nodded to Sora, then vanished along with their charge. Evidently he'd need the attentions of the Infirmary itself. "You know what this means, don't you?" she told Sora. "Seifer could be that one."  
"Until he recovers, there's no way to tell what his involvement is," Adam pointed out.  
"I know," Sora answered absently, his expression indicating he was deep in thought. After a few moments, he touched a hand to his wrist and his own markings. As with everyone else, it showed the stylised image of the Arcology and his name in an ornate hand, then signifying his position with the image of a Kingdom crown like the one that always hung around his neck.  
They sparked momentarily, making him instinctively jerk his wrist back a moment, then he put a hand to Kairi's shoulder.  
"You're going off somewhere, aren't you?" she asked shrewdly.  
"This is serious, Kairi. We've got our traitor, a missing Cornerstone, a device that's replaced it and is failing, and the Collective's darkness to worry about. There's probably a link between them all, and given everything that's happened, there's a lot I want to put in place." He turned to the mouse and continued, "I'm going to hold a meeting with the Council in a moment, and I'm extending an official invitation for you to join us, King Mickey. Would you care to take it?"  
"Naturally," he answered. "But I thought you hated meetings?"  
"I do, but they're unavoidable sometimes. Can anyone think of anyone else who needs to be present?"  
"Your Advisors?" Kairi suggested.  
"They're both busy as it is. Roxas also left me a message telling me he's looking into some artefacts with Riku, and he doesn't send himself on missions all that often. Let them be."  
"Ventus then. He can stand in for him and his friends. They should know they've been taking orders from the wrong Roxas."  
"Hadn't thought of that. Anyone else?"  
"How about Axel? He's on leave, and he knows plenty about the darkness too. I think you should call on Ienzo too, and get an update on his progress," she added.  
"He doesn't like being called away from his work too often. I'm not sure he'll come, but I'll send Axel to pick up him and Ven. Could I ask you to go on down and keep an eye on Seifer for me please?"  
"Only because it's you asking," Kairi replied with a mischievous smile, then left them.  
"Adam?" Sora asked then.  
"Oh, not me, my friend. I'm too old to be sitting around in meetings all the time. You go ahead."  
"In that case, why don't we go?" he turned to Mickey and grinned. "You haven't seen my new meeting area, have you? Ienzo gave it to me."  
"I don't think so, no. Where is it?"

_Where Nothing Gathers_

The thrones had been adjusted in height since the time the Organization had used them. Sora had found no easy way to attribute height to ranks, given that on the few times he met others here the ranks of those present often changed. Instead, the ones on either side of his own were lowered down slightly, even with each other, and the next pair a bit further, right the way round.  
After finding they weren't entirely comfortable, his own one also sported several cushions in the same white so no one would notice them.  
On either side of him, the six members who made up the Arcology's Council had appeared, followed by Axel on the left, and Mickey on the right just beyond them. Ienzo and Ventus took the next pair, leaving only two of them unoccupied this time.  
"We've got a problem," Sora started. "And I'm not just talking about our friends in the Muren Collective."  
"You mean you didn't call us all here to enjoy the company?" Axel quipped. "I'm crushed."  
"Hush," he chided gently, then went on. "We thought the systems in place, not to mention the Arcology itself, were infallible. We've been proven wrong. Someone has managed to find a way to fool everything into believing they were Advisor Roxas."  
There were murmurs of surprise from the Council at this. Sora had kept it quiet until now.  
"To what end, Grandmaster?" one of them asked him.  
Sora looked over to Ventus and asked, "Would you tell everyone what you and your friends have been doing?"  
"We've been working with Roxas – or at least, who we thought was Roxas. Are you telling me we've been listening to the wrong one all this time?"  
"Not the whole time. About a week ago, our imposter somehow intercepted you before you reached the real Roxas, and led you out on various missions, some of which neither he or I would ever have given to go-ahead for – among them being the most recent one."  
Ventus glanced guiltily toward Mickey and murmured, "The Cornerstone."  
"Exactly. The Cornerstone was until recently in our Reliquary, and one of Axel's early Heartless Barrier prototypes has taken it's place."  
"It's starting to fail, Sora," Mickey told him. "The castle is safe for now, but I've had to call in Leon, Cloud and various others from Radiant Garden to keep the town safe from the Heartless, and it's getting steadily worse. The area it's covering is shrinking."  
"It's one of the problems we had quite often in the early versions," Axel apologised for his device. "They were never meant to be used on a large area or for long periods. If you'll allow us to go in, I can set up one of the newer versions to handle it, your Majesty."  
"That can be done after we're finished here," Sora reminded them. "Like I said, the Cornerstone was until recently in the Reliquary. Not long ago, the fifth-rank Seifer, accompanied by a group of currently unknown others, went there with authorisation from our imposter Roxas. The others with him utilized a dark corridor to remove it."  
"And Seifer?" another of the Council asked.  
"Is currently in the Infirmary. Witnesses account says he fainted when the corridor appeared, and began to have convulsions. Until he recovers, we can't do anything about him. As the systems for detecting the Collective have not been triggered, we must assume that either it was not them, or that they have found a way around the system. As we can't be certain who was with Seifer right now, effective immediately there will be no new visitor's passes issued until we can resolve this. Internal Security is reviewing the movements of all who had or have passes in the past week in an attempt to find out if any of them have been involved."  
"I'd suggest having this Seifer's movements and actions tracked as well. He seems to be involved in this."  
"Have them add him to their list," Sora confirmed. "I also want all members who don't have a task to start going out to all known worlds to find out anything and everything about the location of the Cornerstone. Once we have it's location, we'll organize an effort to return it to it's proper place – not that I doubt the capability of your devices Axel, but it's been doing the job for a lot longer. We know it's more than capable of the task at hand."  
"Don't worry about hurting my feelings, Sora," Axel replied. "I know my devices aren't perfect. They're getting there though. Are we just about done with this problem of yours?"  
"Unless anyone can think of anything else?"  
"Have your systems specialists run a check over the Internal Security network," Ienzo suggested. "And the detection systems. Especially the detection systems. If the Collective has tampered with them, we need to undo it as soon as possible."  
"I've already had Sand talk to them and get that underway. The network's fairly vast though, and it's going to take time. Even more time since we don't dare disable the systems while they're being checked. Anything else?" There was no response, so he turned back to Axel. "You had something else you wanted to bring up?"  
"I can wait until Ienzo's brought you up to date."  
"Naminé and I haven't made much progress," Ienzo told him. "The Collective's linked mind is comprised of so many individual minds that it's just too powerful for her to try to take on alone. So far she's been able to make use of Vexen's link to the Collective mind to connect to it, but they're quick to detect intruders and quicker to adapt. She barely had time to sever the connection before they mentally lashed out at her, and we've not been able to get back in since then."  
"Is she safe?"  
"Shaken, but unharmed."  
"Good. Do you need anything to continue your work?"  
"Not at the moment, but things would go quicker if I could borrow a few people from you. With just Naminé and me working on things, it's slow progress."  
"I'll see what I can arrange for you. Anything else to report?"  
Ienzo shook his head, and once more Sora turned back to Axel.  
"While I was out on the last mission, we came across some of the Collective's signs, and even found a wall of runes. Dean, my team's languages expert, managed to translate them, and tells me he's currently in the process of making them more understandable. I asked Sand to stay nearby him so you could bring them here to get it from him directly."  
Sora nodded, raising one hand. The remaining two thrones became occupied by Sand and Dean.  
"What's the translation?" he asked him simply.  
"I haven't made much sense of it it, Grandmaster," Dean apologised. "It's difficult work. For starters, how many Kingdom Keys are there?"  
"I believe it's two, isn't it Mickey?"  
"One for the realm of Light and one for the realm of Darkness," Mickey confirmed.  
"I think there's a third, one for the realm of In-between." He fidgeted for a moment, then pulled out a rumpled sheet of paper, and peered at it. "So far I've established it talks about the time the Kingdom Key chose you, Grandmaster, then it talks about the Key of In-Between, which suggests the presence of a third. As far as I can tell, it's been laying in wait for something to happen."  
"What exactly?"  
"I can't be certain of this, but I think it was the Collective's use of darkness. Part of it reads, 'When the Mind is dark, the Key will awaken', and if we assume the Mind is the Collective's, we've gone past that point. It also says it resides somewhere called the 'Islands of the Echoes', then goes on to say that if the three Keys are brought together, someone it refers to as 'The One Who Is Not' can stop the Collective."  
"It could mean Naminé," Ienzo said. "She wasn't meant to exist."  
"No Nobodies were meant to exist," Axel told him.  
"True. But Naminé was formed from Sora's memories of Kairi, and Kairi's Heart within his when he turned the Keyblade of People's Hearts on himself. She wasn't directly formed from Kairi, and like Roxas, she had no memories at all."  
"Keep on your work all the same, Ienzo," Sora told him. "Just in case it's not her. Anything else, Dean?"  
"Ah... there's a pair of warnings for you and King Mickey, then it says the two of you should try to find the one the third Kingdom Key chose as soon as possible."  
"Warnings?" Mickey asked curiously. "What do they say?"  
"I've managed to interpret your one, your Majesty," he answered. "After Advisor Roxas left Organization XIII, he was put into a simulation of Twilight Town to keep him safe from them while the last of Sora's memories were restored. I believe the warning for you suggests the Collective will try to do something similar to you."  
"I think you and I might want to stick together," Sora suggested to him. "With me around, they should be a little more wary about getting too close to us."  
"Good plan," Mickey agreed. "What about Sora's warning?"  
"I haven't managed to interpret it yet. It says 'The plan once thwarted will rise again through the Mind if you should fail to secure the Keeper of the Key of In-Between'."  
"The plan once thwarted?" Sora mused. "I've gone and meddled in so many plans there's no telling which one that could be."  
"Not necessarily," Ienzo disagreed. "You said the Collective has begun to utilize the same darkness the Organization commanded?"  
"That's right."  
"Their shared mind would link the effects to all of them, and they'd end up destroying the Hearts of the entire Collective if they kept on using it. Given the immense rise in Heartless I've been hearing about, I'd say a good number of them are already well on the way there."  
"What's your point?"  
"They're going to copy the Organization, Sora. Create their own Kingdom Hearts to get their Hearts back."  
Sora considered this for a few moments, then burst out laughing, much to everyone's surprise.  
"What's so funny, Sora," Mickey demanded. "We've got to stop them-"  
"No," he managed eventually. "We don't. I got bored a while back an had a look into things. It would never have worked. Even if Xemnas hadn't been obsessed with power, if he or anyone in the Organization had tried to get it to give them a Heart, it would have destroyed them instead. If the Collective tries it, they're going to obliterate themselves."  
"You mean all that work me and Roxas put in for the Organization – all those Hearts we gathered – were for nothing?"  
"Oh, I don't know about being for nothing, but it would never have gotten you what you wanted."


	9. Chapter 9

_Floor 3  
__Roxas' Intelligence Agency  
__Central server room_

Whenever Sora took a hand in things outside the Arcology, he always worked directly from the core servers that managed the Database because it meant the systems were more responsive. He put it down to being closer to the cores.  
"Where do we start?" Mickey asked him.  
"Echo Islands, of course. That inscription told us to find the third one of us before the Collective does, and it said he's there. Naturally, it's our first port of call."  
"I've never heard of it myself, and I've been to a lot of worlds."  
"More than me?"  
"Hard to say. I wasn't keeping count."  
"What were you doing over in the Realm of Darkness all that time?"  
"Closing the keyholes of worlds there. Your Kingdom Key couldn't close them because it was from the opposite realm. They have to be locked with the right Key."  
"The Kingdom Key from that realm. Which you had."  
"Have," Mickey corrected. "What interests me is the worlds in the Realm In-between. Your Key closed several of them."  
"Maybe it was because the Key for that realm hadn't been awakened?"  
"It could be. Could I see the translation of the inscription?"  
"Sure thing. Let me just call it up for you."  
"Won't it get in the way of your work?"  
"That's one of the things I've learned about these computers now I've got the hang of them. They make multitasking so easy. Here," he added, handing him a pad. "I downloaded it onto there for you."  
Mickey examined it, while Sora continued his own search. Both frowned at their respective screens at the same time.  
"I think-" they both started, then both tried to finish, "Go on."  
There was an awkward silence before Mickey said, "It's your Arcology. You go first."  
"I couldn't make you wait, Mickey. Go on."  
"I think the Key from In-between isn't meant to lock keyholes. Either of our Keys will lock the ones in that realm, if I read this correctly, but not the native Key."  
"I thought that was the whole point of the Keys."  
"So did I, but it seems there's a very special situation surrounding this third Key. What did you find?"  
"Nothing, but for one note. I think we might have a bit of a problem."  
"A bit? What's the note say?"  
"Two things. First, there has only ever been one person that knew the location of the Echo Islands."  
"And second?"  
"It's impossible to reach it by Gummi ship, and you can only use such things as dark corridors or the power of our Kingdom Hearts if you already know it's location."  
"Well, I guess we go looking for this one person then."  
"It's not that simple. He's dead."  
Mickey suspected by the subtle, subdued change in tones that he already knew what came next, but curiosity forced him to ask all the same.  
"Who were they?"  
Sora didn't answer, instead turning back to the screen, working away for a few moments more, then nodding.  
"We can find his shade in the Necropolis, at least. Maybe he'll be willing to tell us."  
"I know that world," Mickey said, half to himself. "One of the ones I met in the realm of darkness. The dead walk the streets there."  
"Don't remind me," Sora answered, shuddering. "I hated it the last time I had to go there, and I'm not going to like it any more this time either."  
"When were you there – and what were you doing in the Realm of Darkness?"  
"About a month or so ago. Roxas had gone there with Terra to find Aqua, only the Necropolis has some strange effects on the living if they stay there too long. Aqua explained it to me; you start splitting apart into different aspects, such as hope and despair, love and hatred. The two of them caught the attention of her vengeful side, and Roxas ended up out cold because of it. Somehow, Terra managed to get my attention through him, giving me a vague idea of where they were so I could go and save them."  
"After I locked the keyhole there then. Be glad you didn't go there before then, Sora. It was overrun by the vengeful dead at the time, and they're far more dangerous. They were focused entirely on getting their revenge on the living, and the stronger they feel that, the more solid they become."  
"Please," Sora said in a pained tone. "Can was not talk about the dead?"  
"Why are you afraid of them?"  
"I don't want to talk about it. I don't even want to go there, but I know we'll find _him_ there, and he's the only one who can tell us."  
"Sora, you command the entire Arcology and all it's inhabitants, not to mention a significant portion of power from your very own Kingdom Hearts, you brought down Sephiroth, faced off against Xemnas again and all the other things that have happened to you besides – but you're still afraid of the undead?"  
"Yes. Is there something wrong with that?"  
"Don't you think you're a little old for a... childish kind of fear like that?"  
Sora's head came up sharply, and in a low tone he answered, "Do you think I'm a little young to be at the helm of all this?" he indicated vaguely around him. "Do you know what the most common complaint about me is?" Mickey shook his head. "That I'm too young! It's because I haven't even seen my eighteenth year yet that a good half of the Arcology doesn't think I'm fit to rule it, and now you're telling me I'm _old!_"  
"Calm down!" he snapped. "Young or old, you've got the job and anyone with sense is going to think twice about trying to change that. Do you really think I don't have my own share of similar problems?"  
"Of course not," Sora answered, getting himself under control again. "I just..."  
"I understand. I hit a sore spot. I'm sorry."  
"Not your fault," he mumbled. "I'm the one with the unreasoning fear of the undead."  
"Everyone's afraid of something. Now come on. You can get us to the Necropolis, and we'll see – who was it again?" Sora told Mickey the name. After another long pause, he finally managed, "Oh. I see. We might have a bit of a problem then."  
"Told you so."  
"Why don't we go see him then, and get this out the way?"  
Sora almost replied when an old friend of his entered the room. It was Merle, the tall woman who had brought him into the Arcology almost a year and a half ago now. Then a First, various events had dropped her down lower in rank. She'd so far earned her way back up to being a third rank.  
"Excuse me Sora," she said. "But we've got a bit of a situation at the Visitor's Entrance. When I heard you were here, I thought it better to bring it to you."  
"Let me deal with this," he murmured to Mickey, then asked, "What's happened?"  
"There's a number of people somewhat irritated at a ruling denying any new passes. We've been providing them with temporary lodgings and supplies in a camp just outside the Arcology for those who want to wait."  
"Get to the point please, Merle."  
"Of course. I was just outlining the situation. One of those waiting was sent in by a newcomer to the camp with a message. He said you know him, and he insists on speaking with you."  
"Did you get his name?"  
Merle nodded bleakly. "It's one of the Collective, Sora – one on your bounty list. A certain Rai Kun."  
Sora's expression hardened. "Go on back down. Tell his messenger to take this message back to him: I'm coming down, and if he's done anything to anyone there, he had better be ready to justify it, or I won't be interested in hearing what he has to say in the slightest, because I'll be doing the talking with my Keyblade."  
Merle nodded again, leaving with a faintly frightened look on her face.  
"That's not like you," Mickey noted.  
"The Collective's been a constant thorn in my side, and their use of the darkness hasn't endeared them to me. Any of the important members among them are wanted, and if any of them are brought to me, they'll be the first to test the new cells Axel upgraded with one of his devices. He and Ienzo worked on a special version to block out not just the darkness but the Collective itself. They'll be powerless within there."  
"That's definitely not like you. You'd never have stooped to that before this place claimed you."  
"It changes people. If you want to make an issue of it, go ahead – but after I talk with Kun. If you see what happens between us, you might understand why I'm taking harsher measures when it comes to them."  
Mickey looked doubtful, but said nothing as he followed Sora out.

_Outside the Arcology  
__Visitor's Camp_

Rai Kun, still bearing the signature clothing that marked him as a Collective member, stood almost unmoving in the informal central square of the village, which was in itself a sea of tents in varying sizes and colours.  
Using the abilities the Collective had always been able to call on, the ability to use the mind to do what others did with their back – if at all – he scanned through the minds of those in the camp, then attempted to do the same to the Arcology.  
The camp he could detect fine, picking up on a considerable hostility toward his presence here, but the Arcology...  
_-The Arcology has created a defence against us,-_ he informed the rest of the Collective. _-It causes locations to appear empty to our minds. I am probing at it to attempt to find a weakness to exploit.-  
__-No,-_ the voice of Vexen replied. _-If Sora becomes aware of our efforts to gain entry thus, it will only incense him and his people further. Even with the darkness on our side, it would be unwise to push them too far. We have the upper hand. We do not need to lose it due to this.-  
__-We concur,-_ the Collective added. _-There will be time enough in the future to test the defences. Has there been any word from Rai Nek?-  
__-None. None have detected his presence within the Collective since the time the Dark Corridor opened in the Reliquary.-  
__-Beware! We detect the approach of the Grandmaster. Be on guard!-  
_Kun acknowledged this, bringing his concentration into focus. Moments later, he spotted the Grandmaster of Sora's Arcology bearing down on him. He did not look pleased to see them.

Sora did not like dealing with the Collective. They were arrogant, stubborn and lately it appeared completely devoid of any sense at all.  
As he approached, he made out the features of the Collective's usual diplomat, and the first member he'd ever met; Rai Kun, the only official representative of the Collective they allowed to speak for the whole.  
"Grandmaster," he greeted Sora.  
"What do you want?" he answered ungraciously.  
"It has come to the attention of the Collective that a member of your Arcology ignored a demand previously made."  
"What do I care? I've ignored your demands from the moment I met you, and I don't see any reason to change that."  
"We demanded that you did not examine the inscription with our symbol in the ruins outside of Agrabah. You did not."  
"And it's a good thing we ignored you too, or we'd never have found out what it said."  
"Do not go to the Echo Islands."  
"Let me guess, if I do, you'll take steps to stop me."  
"That is correct."  
"Do you really think you can stop me if I decide I'm going there?"  
"We have the Heartless completely under our command. We are not afraid to unleash them."  
"I noticed," Sora replied drily. "But I have this." His keyblade appeared in hand, the keychain he'd chosen giving it the menacing dragon's head of the Fatal Crest form. "I don't think I need to tell you I won't hold anything back if any Heartless comes my way."  
Kun examined the keyblade, then calmly returned to look at Sora. "No. We would expect nothing less of you. However, we are also aware that you are alone. Your Nobody is a Nobody no longer, and while ties remain between you, he is separate from you. The Dreamer has awoken and taken his own Heart back, leaving yours by itself. If you should fall into the darkness-"  
"If he falls into the darkness, it'll be because he can stop it!" Mickey interrupted, stepping forward beside him. "I won't let you run the Heartless unchecked any more than he will, and if you want either of us, you'll have to go through both of us!"  
Kun appeared to notice Mickey for the first time, then somewhat stiffly he bowed. "Your Majesty," he said. "We were not aware you were involved in this personally. To you we make a separate offer. Join forces with us, and we will ensure the safety of your castle and town."  
Mickey's answer appeared in his hand in the form of Star Seeker.  
"As you wish," Kun said. "If you are found on the Echo Islands, we will bar your progress by any means necessary."  
With that statement, he turned, summoned a dark corridor, and departed.  
"Let's go," Sora told Mickey shortly. "There's no time to waste. If you'll excuse me..."  
"Sora, if we're going to be travelling together it's going to get very tiresome if you keep asking permission to port me like that."  
"Sorry. Just thought I'd be polite about it."  
"Be polite on your own time. We've got work to do."


	10. Chapter 10

_The Necropolis  
__Outside the main gates_

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this," Sora muttered, opening the vast blue double-doors of the Necropolis by aiming his keyblade at the giant lock on them. Mickey said nothing, trying to ignore the biting cold of the snowstorm howling around them. They hadn't prepared for an expedition in the cold, mostly because inside the Necropolis itself, the coldness came instead from the presence of the dead rather than any actual drop in temperature.  
The door creaked open, allowing them entry into the immense hallway between the first and second doors. Almost as soon as they cleared the wide swing of the first doors, they closed, plunging them into a momentary darkness before the second pair opened to the bleak, black buildings and streets that made up the City of the Dead.  
"Where do you think he'll be?" Mickey asked Sora as they stepped inside, the second doors banging shut behind them.  
"I don't have any clue. Last time I was here he found me by himself, so maybe he'll do it again."  
"We can't just do nothing, Sora."  
"I don't plan to. The dead seem to have a community of sorts. Maybe we should ask around."  
"We shouldn't split up. Not if the Collective is after one or both of us."  
"The Collective thinks we already know where the Echo Islands are. They're not expecting us to be here. Not that I'm saying we should split up." Several shades walked past, one even through both of them. Sora shuddered back involuntarily. "Definitely not splitting up," he muttered. "I hate this."  
Mickey started off without him, already heading toward another nearby shade.  
"We're looking for someone," he told it loudly. "Can you help us?"  
"No," it told him haughtily. "I can't. Step aside."  
"No." Mickey answered. "I think you can help us."  
It faded out instead.  
"So much for that idea," Sora murmured. "Maybe we should just call for him?"  
"Don't do that! If you get too loud you could disturb other shades – and not all shades will like that. Some could turn on you, and you really don't want that."  
"You know, I'm glad someone tells me things like this before I go to worlds," Sora said blandly. "It always makes it so much easier knowing what you have to do to get torn apart."  
"Will you stop that and actually do something useful?"  
"Like what? The Arcology's power doesn't work on the dead. All we can do is just ask around and hope he'll find us."  
"Well get started already."

_Sora's Arcology  
__Infirmary and Medical Research  
__Floor 38  
__Long-term patients wing_

Members of the Collective were never normally separated from the Collective. Even while they slept, they remained linked to, and a part of the shared mind, able to participate just as much as those who were awake.  
After a time, the sense of self becomes subtly altered in this presence and members generally consider the Collective as much a part of them as they are of it.  
So on the rare times when a mind becomes separated from the Collective, a state of panic normally ensues due to the silence in their mind until the link reasserts itself.  
Seifer recalled all this calmly, wondering why he wasn't panicked as he began to wake.  
He recalled what had happened, then realised. His original fear had become very real.  
His mind passed through the lower levels of consciousness and rose toward wakefulness, becoming steadily more aware of himself. The mental abilities of the Collective began to reassert themselves, allowing him to examine his surrounds with his mind before he fully woke up.  
Seeing with the mind is not like seeing with the eyes. Colours flash through, and have to be identified.  
Sharp greens at first. Metals, plastics. He felt around them, grasping the shapes and determined he was lying in a bed. Several more different greens, and judged he was in some kind of medical facility.  
The bright flash of red, indicating a mind. Seifer reached out and examined the mind. A female mind. He went deeper, examining thoughts. Memories of Sora. Being with him. This was Kairi's mind.  
So Sora had set Kairi to watch him. Did he know?  
More memories were examined. Sora suspected him. He knew what had happened, but didn't know that he was their fake Roxas yet. He'd set enough in motion to put him on the trail leading to that discovery-  
_-Rai Nek, welcome back to the Collective. What is your status?-  
__-I have become a Nobody,-_ he answered. _-It is a curious experience. I believe I am otherwise unharmed.-  
__-And your location?-  
__-Uncertain. I believe I am in a medical facility, quite probably within the Arcology. I have detected Kairi's mind nearby. What has happened in my absence?-_ Various minds filled him in, passing him thoughts and memories. Kun sent him the memory of meeting Sora, and saw they knew about the Echo Islands. The King was working with him, and they were on the trail of the third Key.  
Other memories brought him up to date on their own operations on those isles. The Heartless were already there, waiting for the Grandmaster and the King.  
Seifer took all this in as quickly as he could handle it.  
_-Rai Mure has been unable to advise us on our next course of action,-_ the Collective told him. _-We seek your input on the situation.-  
_Seifer thought, deliberately preventing himself from fully waking up. A plan was already forming.  
_-I would ask to be named a leader of the Collective for the duration of our quarrel with the Arcology,-_ Seifer answered, knowing full well that this was not a request made lightly. A lot of the Collective was against having a single, centralized leader for many reason.  
The Collective's answer was short and simple. _-State your explanation.-  
__-Our operations with the Heartless on the Echo Islands may fail to stop Sora, and are more likely to for as long as the King is with him. If we succeed, then both of them will become Heartless, if not Nobodies. In the case of the former, we can command them. In the case of the latter, they may simply be dispatched as with any other Nobody. If however our plans fail to stop him, and we cannot retrieve the Keeper before their arrival, he will move directly to stop us. What is required is a distraction. I propose to take Kairi, who is presently watching over my sleeping form, and leave him enough breadcrumbs to discover that I have taken her. He will follow, and without him the three Keys cannot be brought together. We merely have to keep her from him for long enough to claim any one of the three Keys, even if that should mean killing one of them.-  
_Seifer waited. Either they would accept it, or they would not. Being recognised as a leader of the Collective for this was not entirely essential, but it would expedite matters with Kairi, and with Sora too if he managed to catch up with him.  
He listened in, touching on other minds as the debate began to be taken up. There were many views on the matter, too many to count.  
Finally, Rai Mure stepped in, silencing them with a single word: _-Vote.-  
_As the idea was originally his, he could not vote on it himself and thus was chosen to tally the votes. A flurry of single-word thoughts bombarded him as he quickly collected the votes.  
Keeping to tradition, he announced the results to the Collective. Being a Nobody now, he was able to keep any change to his tone betraying the results.  
_-Twenty-three thousand voting members. Two thousand and seventy abstained. Nine thousand and fifty-three against. Eleven thousand, eight hundred and seventy-seven in favour.-  
_He'd achieved it, but not by as much as the numbers suggested.  
_-The measure has passed. Rai Nek has nominal command of the Collective until we control one of the keys.-  
__-Continue on course then,-_ he told them. _-I will advise as situations arise. Progress reports on the status of Sora and the King are essential. A task force is required in each of the following worlds: Radiant Garden, Wonderland, Dwarf Woodlands, Agrabah, the Beast's Castle, the Castle of Dreams and Enchanted Dominion. Focus on the appearance of the kidnapping of the Princesses of Heart, but do not hurry or bring large numbers of Heartless. They are not essential to the plan as yet.-  
__-The Princess of Heart from Radiant Garden does not reside in that world.-  
__-I am aware of this. Kairi is with me at this time. I will take care of her myself. The goal of those at Radiant Garden is to locate the former site of the keyhole. Leave traces enough at each world to attract the attention of Sora. He will without doubt recognise the signs and understand what we are doing.-  
__-What is it you plan to do?-  
_Seifer distributed the remainder of the plan as a series of thoughts to the Collective.  
_-It is risky,-_ he conceded. _-But we have greater numbers and understanding. I believe we will prevail.-_

_The Necropolis_

"Sora."  
"Hm?"  
"Look there."  
Sora turned, following Mickey's gaze. Heading down the street away from them was the unmistakable shade they sought.  
Like an uncoiling spring, Sora bolted after the shade, not wanting to let it get away while it was in his sights.  
It paused, then glanced over the fuzzy edge of one shoulder at the sound, looking curious, then fully turned to watch Sora approach with Mickey not far behind.  
"Isn't this an unexpected surprise?" the voice came to him faintly despite the close distance. It watched as the two slowed, catching up and catching their breath. "You too, your Majesty? I'm honoured."  
"We're not here to honour you," Mickey told him.  
"I'm crushed," it answered, taking a seat just above a nearby bench. Mickey remained standing, while Sora sank onto it and pulled out a flask. The cap was unscrewed and revealed to be a small stack of cups.  
"Coffee?" Mickey watched as he poured out one. "At a time like this?"  
"I always keep some around. Good for getting your energy back. You want one?"  
"Not for me."  
"Sephiroth?" he asked the shade beside him.  
"I'm dead, in case you've forgotten."  
"Oh yeah."  
"What are you up to, Sora?"  
"We're looking for a world, and you're the only one who knows where it is."  
"Ah... so the Keyblade Masters are looking for the Echo Islands. What do you have to offer?"  
"And this is the other reason for the coffee," Sora told Mickey. "I'm likely to be sat here negotiating for a while."  
Sand appeared with a brief pulse of light in the air, while Sephiroth's shade looked on with interest.  
"Sorry to interrupt," he began. "The infirmary sent me with a priority message for you, Sora. They insisted you know at the soonest opportunity."  
"We'll negotiate in a moment," Sora told Sephiroth, then nodded to Sand.  
"Seifer regained consciousness, but before anyone reached him he disappeared into a dark corridor with Kairi. We have no knowledge of his destination, but several red flags have been raised on Advisor Roxas' Intelligence service."  
Sora seemed to keep himself under control at this news only with effort, and simply answered, "Which flags?"  
"I only have the code-words for them," Sand warned, then when Sora nodded, he continued, "Pure Hearts, Second Genie and Last Lock."  
Sora frowned.  
"What do they mean?" Mickey asked him.  
"Hush a moment," he answered absently. "Let me think." They all watched him in silence for several minutes, seeing his expression grow serious, and eyes widen. Even Sephiroth looked surprised at the sudden, vicious outburst of cursing Sora vented, the echoes rebounding around the Necropolis.  
When he finally calmed himself, Sephiroth murmured, "Good to get it all out instead of letting it build up like that. Care to tell us what's happened?"  
"Second Genie means the lamp I imprisoned Jafar in after he stupidly had himself turned into a Genie has been spotted again, and the suspicions are that Jafar is still around. I thought his lamp had been destroyed, but apparently not."  
"And the other two?"  
"Mickey should recognise them. They're not as obscure."  
Now Mickey thought, then he too looked surprised. "The Seven princesses of Heart, and the Final Keyhole?"  
"Exactly. I was wrong. The 'plan once thwarted' isn't going to be the Collective creating their own Kingdom Hearts. They're trying to open the Final Keyhole, and that's why Seifer's taken Kairi."  
Sephiroth looked curiously interested, and asked, "This Collective you mentioned. They wouldn't be the Muren Collective, would they?"  
"How did you guess?"  
"They're the reason I never told anyone where the Echo Islands were." He looked speculatively skyward, then back to Sora. "I think it might be better that you know. But you won't be able to go there through the Arcology's power. I tried it already."  
"How then?"  
"Your Majesty, do you still have the Star Shard that Yen Sid gave you?"  
"It's kept safe in the Disney Castle, why?"  
"I believe if you can retrieve it, I can show you how to reach the world of the Echo Islands with it."  
"Sand can take you to the castle safely, and bring you directly back to here."  
But Sand shook his head, "I could port myself to you because I'm directly owned by you, but I can't leave again."  
"Then I'll open the doors myself," Mickey told them. "My keyblade can work the doors just like yours, then Sand can take me there and back."  
"Go with him," Sora told Sand. "As soon as you've brought him back here, have the artefact task force put on hold. I want recon teams out in the home worlds of all seven of the Princesses of Heart. They're to stay in the field, lay as low as possible while they gather data, and if there's any sign of a coup to capture any of the remaining six Princesses, immediately notify the Arcology. Get a retrieval team on the scene to protect the Princesses the instant that happens – do whatever has to be done, but don't let any of them get taken. Any spare recon teams, get them out to the other worlds and search for Kairi and Seifer. Do not let anyone other than Axel and his team attempt to retrieve Kairi, and under no circumstances risk a confrontation with Seifer. He's _mine_."  
"You know, Sora, I think you might have been right," Sephiroth said as Sand and Mickey departed. "I could have learned a great deal from you. In just a short time, you've learned the situation and acted effectively on it. I wouldn't be surprised to find you get Kairi back before there's any attempt to take any single one of the remaining Princesses."  
"It's all in the preparations, Sephiroth," he answered. "Roxas set up the task force primarily for artefact retrieval, but they're well trained, and ready to take on anything I need. The artefacts can be dropped at a moments notice to handle any crisis that comes up, and alongside the Intelligence service, we hear about things almost as soon as they crop up. I can respond at a moment's notice."  
"So I see. Why don't you tell me a bit more about the changes to the Arcology while we wait?"  
"So you can put them in place here, and rule the dead?"  
"Me? No, that's up to Hades. You'd better hope he doesn't stop by while you're here by the way. He has one massive grudge to hold against you."  
"He can join the queue," Sora shrugged. "The Collective's next to get served one big dish of..." he hesitated, then laughed, "I never thought I'd say something like this."  
"Like what?"  
Sora smirked and finished, "A big dish of pure ownage."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **I know, some time without an update due to technical issues, then I give you these latest three all at once. I'll give you all time to read all the updates I've put up at last before I start adding any more.  
On a more story-related note, in this chapter the Island of the Final Echo and the mysterious inhabitant mentioned before finally make their second appearance, along with many interesting suggestions.  
As usual, enjoy.

_

* * *

Christmas Town_

The snow was pushed aside around two areas, which in turn flashed white once, then faded to drop Roxas and Riku from the empty air into a snowbank with a thump, closely followed by two more thumps as nearby trees dropped their accumulated snow down after them.  
There passed several moments before scrunching and scratching sounds finally revealed Roxas unburying himself from the snow, then right after that, Riku's accusing voice: "You missed."  
"It's not as if it's a precise art, Riku."  
"You were precise enough to get us into the lamp chamber in the Cave of Wonders, right beside the artefact's remains."  
"Have you ever flown a Gummi ship Riku? Or looked at a map of the worlds and the lanes between them?"  
"No," he admitted. "Originally, someone else handled getting me from world to world, then later on I started using dark corridors. But what do they have to do with getting around?"  
"The world of Agrabah is fairly close to Wonderland, so I was able to place our arrival more accurately. Halloween Town is a lot further away from Agrabah though, so I had less accuracy. The only real exception is if I'm going to or from somewhere familiar, like the Arcology or the World that Never Was."  
"This isn't Halloween Town, Roxas."  
"I know. It's Christmas Town, which for some reason shares the same world as Halloween Town. There should be a tree with a pumpkin on it around here somewhere, we can use that to go to Halloween Town."  
Riku got up, brushing the last of the snow off himself and looking speculatively down at the town in the valley below.  
"Christmas Town, you say?"  
"Yeah. I've never actually been here, but I know about it." Riku thought for a few moments, then wordlessly headed down into the valley. "The exit to Halloween town is back there," Roxas told him, catching up.  
"I know. Sora once passed me some 'very best regards' from someone down there, and I'm going to find out if he made it up or not."  
"What kind of 'someone'?"  
Riku glanced over at him as he continued to power walk down the snowy trail and with a faint smile asked, "Do you go with Christmas and all the stuff with it, Roxas?"  
"Not really." He saw Riku's expression then with a sigh went on, "Alright. Once only, and even then it was after Sora came to power. I got into the spirit of it enough to give a gift to certain people, and a few people returned the favour. But beyond that, no. Never."  
"I think you might have to change your outlook on that when we meet the one who sent me the regards. Then we can go find the artefact's remains."  
"And play with the Heartless," Roxas added. "I'm sure the Carrier Ghosts will be only too happy to see you."  
"You get to deal with them," Riku told him. "Since you seem to think they're so easy to deal with."

_The Necropolis_

Sephiroth, it turned out, seemed to have been improved by death. He didn't seem to hold any grudges, and much of his ambitious impulses appeared to have been put to rest, making him a generally more sociable person to be around. The fact that he was dead didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.  
Sora paused in his account of his run-ins with the Collective when Sand brought Mickey back to them, who in turn walked off with Sephiroth as the shade began to explain to him.  
"I've got more bad news," Sand told Sora, left with him.  
"How kind of you," Sora answered, rolling his eyes. "What's happened now?"  
"It's not so much what happened as what we found out."  
"It's about Seifer, isn't it?"  
"I'm afraid so. It seems he's our false Roxas. Internal Security finally managed to catch it on record. The location reading for Seifer just changed over to reading Roxas, and at the same time, the real Roxas was up in the Grey Area."  
"I think I'm going to have to add a new alert to the system anytime anyone shows up more than once like that."  
"They're already adding it. There's more though. We found evidence of tampering in the systems for detecting the Collective. A list of individuals it would ignore was somehow attached. The changes were also enacted by Seifer."  
"Who was on the list?"  
"All the visitors who went up with him to steal the Cornerstone, and..."  
"And?" Sora prompted.  
"Seifer himself."  
"What? Are you telling me he's a member of the Collective?"  
"We can't be certain, Sora. It may be a ruse, but it looks likely. I did tell one lie, and told Internal Security that it was your orders to have all files and reports on and by Seifer fully examined to see what else turned up."  
"I'll let you off for that lie. Given the situation, it makes sense. Has anything fallen out of the files yet?"  
"We've only learned two things. The medical records indicate that there's been no significant change in mental abilities during the entire time he's been in the Arcology. Since we know from Vexen's records that joining the Collective significantly increases the mental activity, it's a fair assumption that if Seifer is one of them, he joined them before he was ever part of the Arcology."  
"That means... the Collective's had someone on the inside for all this time. He could have been behind my being taken originally... and more."  
"We've got evidence enough to suggest that he was the real ringleader behind my rebellion as well. I thought I was giving the orders, but it turns out he was using the Collective's abilities to influence my choices."  
Sora passed a hand over his eyes wearily. "I'm starting to wonder if he did the same to Sephiroth... or if we'll end up incriminating him for just about everything since I joined the Arcology."  
"It's entirely possible, but we won't know until the records are fully examined."  
"Did I happen to hear my name being mentioned?" Sephiroth asked, rejoining them with Mickey not far behind.  
"Only in passing. I don't suppose you happen to know who's idea it was to have me brought into the Arcology, do you? Or what you did to me?"  
"I believe Seifer reccommended you were brought in, nothing to do with me. As to what I did... that was entirely my own idea. I heard more than you think, Sora. The Collective made offers to me that just weren't in my interests. I ensured they wouldn't be able to snare me so easily. My actions were my own and to my own ends."  
"I'm not sure if that's good or bad news."  
"Don't worry about it then. You're ready to go the the Echo Islands, though you'll probably want to leave the Necropolis before you do. If nothing else to keep Sand from being a permanent resident."  
"I haven't forgotten about him, don't worry. In fact... yes, you're coming with us Sand. You can port yourself to me no matter where I am, so you'll be my way of getting word to and from the Arcology."  
"Don't be a stranger, Sora," Sephiroth told him. "Stop by again sometime."  
"I hope you'll understand if I say I'd rather not. The dead give me the creeps."

_Echo Islands  
__Island of the Final Echo_

He woke to hear the harsh voice of the island's mayor and commander ordering their informal militia to stand firm.  
The curtains were brushed aside just enough to see out and he saw why. A tide of creatures was coming across the single causeway that linked this isle to the Island of the Fifth Echo, and the only way to reach this island. At least, the only way that didn't involve getting attacked by the flash-storms that appeared at a moments notice to deter anyone trying to skip the other islands, disappearing again as soon as it's work was done. Even the residents had to obey the natural order, and travel through them in the proper order to reach any others.  
Then he heard a second call, one that spoke only to him. It was the familiar voice that had guided him ever since his mother had left the Islands for good. His father now lived and worked on the Island of the Third Echo, and had done ever since he'd been old enough to take care of himself.  
The call spoke only three words. _It is time.  
_He nodded, tugging a grey shirt over his shoulders, then over his wings, ensuring they had free movement through the thin holes in the back of the shirt.  
A quick change of pants to a cleaner, though still grey pair – he didn't want to give whoever was behind the voice a bad impression – and some simple sandals later, he slipped out the front door of his home, the home that had once belonged to his parents and had been in the family for generations.  
The streets of the village, for it could only be called that, were deserted. Any time the residents were called on to defend the isle, people either answered the call, or stayed inside.  
He glanced back toward the causeway once when he turned on to the main path, seeing the tide had nearly reached the gate that marked the entrance to the Island of the Final Echo.  
The call spoke again: _Hurry.  
_He nodded again, despite there being no one to see, leaped up on the thatched roof of a house nearby, unfolded his wings and with a second leap he glided effortlessly through the air toward the Temple of Light.  
The Temple was a simple structure, the central Sanctuary of the Key was a squat, square building with a pointed, pyramid rooftop. An unbroken corridor ring had been built around it, the only entrance on the opposite side of the Sanctuary to the side of the Sanctuary's own entrance.  
Around there were the large Temple gardens, dotted with other lesser, smaller shrines. Some of them were dedicated to beliefs or ideals, others were merely the residences of the sweepers. One, the largest of the shrines, belonged to the Temple's sole monk and attendant. Naturally, the monk had heard about the militia, and as was his duty, he stood firm at the massive gates of the walls that encircled the Temple gardens to protect the Temple.  
Privately, he knew the ageing monk was not likely to achieve much against the creatures he'd seen coming, but knew to keep it to himself. To suggest one was not good enough was a deadly insult in the society here.  
He dived down, then rose up sharply to gain height, flying easily over the tall walls to land in the gardens just outside the Sanctuary. His wings folded back away as he landed, still visible but furled up. Anyone looking at him from in front would never know he had them.  
But everyone who saw him knew they were there. Everyone here had him. The boy the call had shown him, the one it called his brother... why did he not have them? He decided to ask the call if the chance arose as he made his way to the door he'd spent so long sat in front.  
"I'm here," he murmured to the door in a voice that sounded more like a song, laying a hand on it. "Tell me what I have to do."  
The door instead turned grey, then faded out to reveal the inside of the Sanctuary, a simple, cleanly grey chamber with no decorations or markings. The only contents were a simple, square stone, the edges of which rounded as if worked on by the weather, and upon it was a large key – about the same size as the blades handed out to the militia in times of need. He found himself calling it a keyblade without knowing why.  
The teeth of the key showed the outline of a simple crown where the teeth were not, and the teeth, like the blade itself, was a shiny black. The handle was white, and the grip inside that handle was a bright red.  
The call came once more:_ You are my chosen. Take me – wield me against the creatures of Darkness that come to plague this island. My powers are as yours, and yours are enhanced by mine. Surrender me up to none, and allow none to reach the door you will see beyond me.  
_He warily approached the keyblade, then reached out to take it. As he did so, the wall opposite blazed a white light, blinding him. When it cleared, a wooden door had appeared on it, with the outline of a heart near the top, and a large keyhole near the bottom.  
"Where does it lead?" he asked, then found he knew. The knowledge the keyblade had told him about became his own knowledge, a flood of new information. "The heart of the islands... of this world..."  
He realised he had been right, this was indeed a keyblade, and there were others like it. His brother held one of the other two Kingdom Keys, and he knew that he'd need either his brother, or the one chosen by the remaining Kingdom Key to seal this keyhole. His one didn't have the ability.  
He also knew the call would call no more. Everything it had been was now a part of him except the Kingdom Key itself.  
Esan turned and left the Sanctuary, willing the door to reappear behind him so that none would know he had removed the treasured artefact that had lain there since the Ancestors had forged the Kingdom Keys.  
The Kingdom Key vanished from his hand at a single thought. He knew it would call to the creatures he'd seen, the Heartless, as long as he had it summoned. If he dismissed it, then it still existed – but at the same time it was not present, and thus they would be incapable of using it as a homing beacon.  
Esan knew he'd have to use it if the militia failed to stop the Heartless – which they would inevitably do.  
The keyhole needed to be sealed before they reached it. He stood guard at the entrance to the corridor that lead to the Sanctuary's entrance, and focused his thoughts, projecting them out to his brother, not knowing if he'd ever receive them, if he'd hear them or if he'd even understand.  
"_Sora!_" Esan called across the expanse between them. "_I need you! You must bring your Kingdom Key to the Island of the Final Echo before it is too late!_"  
It seemed like an eternity later when a voice he didn't know called back, "_Who are you? And how do you know my name?_"  
"_There isn't enough time to explain – you have to get here now!_"  
"_I'm coming._" Sora's voice answered. "_Hold out as long as you can._"  
Esan nodded. His brother was coming. He had to hope he wouldn't get here too late.


	12. Chapter 12

_Island of the First Echo_

The trio appeared, two keyblades at the ready, set to counter any immediate threat. It was deemed clear of danger, and they began to look at the surroundings.  
"What happened here?" Sora murmured. "It looks like a hurricane came through."  
What had once been a large town now seemed to have been destroyed, torn down and scattered around.  
"Heartless," Mickey answered. "Look to the other side of the island. You can see them coming already."  
Sora gave a broad, sweeping gesture with one hand. The mass of Heartless that had been heading over the causeway to the next island were swept off their feet, and with a second such gesture they were thrown off the causeway into the water.  
"What Heartless?" he asked then. "Why don't we move on?"  
"Something's coming back," Sand told them with a warning hand on their shoulders. "I can feel it."  
"I'm not-" Sora started, then a howling wind blew back at them, forcing them to drop low and dig their feet into the small bar of sand that made the beach. Mickey almost ended up flying off, but Sora caught him just in time. Debris from the ruins were flung at them overhead. Only quick reactions from his keyblade seemed to keep them safe, and even then there were several smaller fragments that caught them.  
The wind began to drop, then a second blast swiped at the from the side bringing a new storm of debris and fragments at them, but also sending sand from the beach at them. Vision dropped off, then disappeared entirely.  
When the wind dropped and deposited the sand around them, the ruins had vanished. In it's place was a town that seems unusually familiar – familiar, but deserted. In the distance, between them and where the causeway should have been, a similarly familiar castle reared against the skyline.  
"I know this place," Sora mused. "I'm sure of it. I can't quite place it thought."  
"It's the Disney Town," Mickey supplied, looking worried. "And my castle too. But something's not quite right here. It doesn't look the way it did when I left it."  
"The only time I remember being here was in Timeless River... it looks like it's definitely after then, but..."  
"Not quite now," Mickey finished.  
"We're not really there," Sand said. "I think this is something like Castle Oblivion."  
"How can you tell?"  
"There's no beach where we're standing in the town, but if you listen-" he picked up one foot and put it down hard. It seemed to sink partially into the ground, and gave a scrunch of sand as it did so.  
Sora almost said something, but Sand waved them into silence, and pointed behind them, tapping one ear.  
The sound of a wave bubbling up the beach came to them, but there was no sight of it.  
"I get it now. It's an echo," Mickey murmured. "An echo of the town as I remember it. This is how it looked when Ventus and his friends passed through, during the Unversed threat."  
Sand stopped them a second time before they entered the echo-town, frowning.  
"I can just about pick up the echo with the Arcology's power. I'm fairly sure there's something here that isn't part of the town. It's definitely an echo, but..." he shook his head. "That's all I can tell. Sorry Sora."  
"Don't apologise. We'll just have to stay alert."  
"And head where, Sora?" Mickey asked.  
"Toward your castle. The causeway the Heartless were on should be just behind it."

_Twilight Town  
__Old Mansion_

The damaged remains of the mansion had been renovated and rebuilt, restoring it to it's former glory. It's former glory was, for the most part, wasted however, as Ienzo and Naminé had redesigned the basement Ansem had used in the guise of DiZ for their own purposes. The room that once held a pod with a slumbering Sora inside had now been replaced with the one containing Vexen, and the computers no longer ran a simulation of Twilight Town but now ran all kinds of data that seemed to make sense only to Ienzo.  
Ven made his way through the mansion to the hidden basement, not really paying attention to the surroundings. Unlike the team that had gone on ahead of him and his friends, he wasn't here to help out – at least not directly.  
Aqua had closed the gates behind them as they entered and stood guard there, while Terra had done the same in the entrance hall. As the mansion's residents were naturally working in the basement, his post was just outside the computer room where Ienzo worked – the first room any attackers would reach.  
No one actually expected an attack, but after the revelation that Seifer was absolutely not to be trusted, and a quickly enacted effort that had gone out to combat something he was up to, Ven had taken it on himself to handle it.  
Most of the reason, of course, stemmed from a continued feeling that after having caused the theft of the Cornerstone leaving him guilty over it, and therefore in need of doing something to make up for it.  
As the Arcology itself was focused on dealing with Seifer's plots, it seemed unlikely they'd be expecting an attack on Ienzo to retrieve Vexen. It seemed logical to make those preparations for Sora, and be ready for an attack.  
Ienzo glanced up as he entered the computer room.  
"Is something wrong?"  
"No," Ven shook his head. "I'm just making sure nothing happens to things here."  
"Did Sora put you up to this?"  
"It was my idea actually."  
"If nothing else, it'll give me someone to talk to."  
"What about Naminé?"  
"She's resting. She insists on trying to force her way into the Collective's mind to find a weakness, and it tires her out. The folks from the Arcology aren't too bad, but they're entirely focused on the work. I don't mind the help, but it's a drag without anyone to talk to."  
"You're welcome," Ven smiled. "It's not like I have anything else to do."  
"Where are your friends?"  
"Upstairs. Aqua's at the gates, and Terra in the entrance hall. Terra was going to suggest sticking together, but I figure anything that gets past both of them to here is likely to be either a big menace, or dreadfully weakened."  
"Taking the easy way out and leaving the worst of it to them?"  
"Better to have someone here to catch it. Besides, we raided one of the Arcology's storerooms for some potions and the like. We'll be fine as long as we don't get a barbaric hoard of Unversed. Or Heartless."  
"Just what were the Unversed?"  
"Extensions of Vanitas. He explained them as a handful of fledgling emotions only marginally under control. They got the name because they weren't well-versed in their own existance. A bit like the Heartless, they don't realise their full potential. Probably just as well."  
"What happened to Vanitas?"  
"He was destroyed by Aqua while he possessed me. The battle almost destroyed my Heart. If it hadn't been for a meeting with Sora when he was young, I wouldn't be here."  
"I know about that. He sheltered the remains of yours until it grew back, right?"  
"Yeah. It's why Roxas looks like me – the presence of my Heart within Sora's caused it. Or what was left of it at the time... my own Heart still isn't actually fully restored. There's just enough of it that I can manage. Roxas reckons another year and it'll be whole again."  
"Doesn't that affect you at all?"  
"You mean leave me a bit like a Nobody?" Ienzo nodded. "No. At least not that I've noticed. All it does is make my keyblade a little unreliable at times. Sometimes it'll come to me, sometimes it won't."  
"Interesting reaction. I'm guessing that's the real reason you're down here."  
"Just in case. I don't doubt their ability to turn anything away, but..."  
"You don't want to be stuck in a battle without a keyblade."  
Ven nodded slowly, leaning back on the wall nearby.  
"It's not just my keyblade either. If someone else gives me a keyblade when I can't summon my own, then it'll return to their hand. It's like I never had the mark of mastery allowing me to wield one in the first place."  
Ienzo watched for a few moments, then turned back to the computer and started to work. After a short wait, he said, "There's still some power in the computer not being used. If you like, I can look into this for you. See if there's anything I can do."  
"Thanks Ienzo. I'd appreciate it."  
"Think nothing of it. I needed something else to do anyway."  
After a longer silence, Ven finally asked, "Is the simulated Twilight Town still active?"  
"No. I had to shut it down. It's saved and backed up though. Why do you ask?"  
"I heard it was like the one outside, but Roxas had a normal life there. I thought I could take a look and see what it was like there for him."  
"Normal lives are over-rated," Ienzo snorted. "Give me interesting times any day. Just look at me ever since Vexen brought me back. I've seen the Dark Arcology become Sora's Arcology, a place with it's own Kingdom Hearts, I've seen Sora take out Xemnas a second time, not to mention reform the place to make it almost unrecognisable to it's previous state, restore you and now meet the Muren Collective head on."  
"Yeah, well, I had my own interesting times. Vanitas, the Unversed, taking the Mark of Mastery exam, finding out Master Xehanort was using me to try to reforge the same blade Sora used to put the Arcology back in it's proper place..."  
"Xehanort? I don't recall his ever being called a Master."  
"Yeah... I was his apprentice at first, until Master Eraqus took me on. That was after Xehanort tried to make me use darkness to destroy some Heartless. If I'd done that, he could have used me to make the blade there and then, but I refused outright. He created Vanitas from my darkness, causing the Unversed to be created and almost destroying my Heart. Sora reached out to save me then as well."  
"When did Eraqus take over?"  
"Just after that. I think if he'd tried to train both me and Vanitas, we'd have been at each other's throats in no time, so he put me in the care of Master Eraqus, and that's how I became a keyblade master."  
"Certainly a fascinating tale. Sometime you'll have to tell me all this in more detail."  
"I guess. What were you doing at the time? I remember someone saying you were around then."  
"I... was one of the six apprentices of Ansem the Wise in Radiant Garden. Me, Xehanort, Braig, Dilan, Even and Aeleus. We were the ones who ignored his order to stop our experiments on the Heart, and we became the first Nobodies of the Organization. Xehanort was different. He split into Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, a Heartless, and the Nobody who became Xemnas. The rest of us... we became Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen and Lexaeus."  
"Then Sora came and destroyed you?"  
"Not all of us. Axel gave himself up to let Sora into the World that Never Was. Roxas was never defeated as such either. Riku was responsible for Lexaeus, and weakening me to the point that Axel used a Riku Replica to finish me off. But Sora was the main cause for the rest of us."  
"What was it like?"  
"I don't remember, actually. I know it happened, but the last thing I remember was seeing Axel order the Riku Replica to do something. The next thing I remember, I'm in the ruins of Dark City with Vexen hovering over me. There are better things to see when you come back from the dead than him."


	13. Chapter 13

_Island of the First Echo_

As they approached the echo of the gate that lead to the Disney Castle, Sand stopped them yet again, frowning again.  
"They're close," he murmured. "I still can't tell you what they are-"  
"Unversed!" Mickey exclaimed, pointing behind them with his keyblade, this time the Kingdom Key instead.  
Sora turned sharply, looking behind then to either side, seeing lines of strange creatures. They were large, almost round, and it's head gave it a somewhat bomb-like appearance. It was blue-black all over with red lines, except for a lighter patch on the front where there was an unfamiliar emblem. It looked almost like two crossed scythes... or possibly axes.  
"These are Unversed?" Sora asked Mickey.  
"Don't ask silly questions, Sora. Fight them like you would the Heartless."  
Sora nodded, then added, "Sand – keep back, and if you're in danger go on back to the Arcology."  
The fat unversed were tough to take down, seeming to absorb most blows to their front. After one started to glow red and exploded, Mickey quickly directed him to attack them from behind – which was easier said than done as they closed ranks, watching each of them with their strange red eyes.  
Several of them shot gusts of wind at them from a pair of stubby arms on the top of their massive body, while others flew around trying to slam into them or land on them, some even managing to bounce quite a ways into the air after doing so.  
When Sora finally managed to get behind one, he found what looked like a kind of valve on the back. A few blows landed on it, and the strange opponents seemed to vanish for good.  
With the last of the Unversed echoes defeated, the echo of the town faded out, replaced by the ruined island that had been there when they arrived.  
Sand had somehow contrived to remain by where the gate had been the whole time, not only unmoved but unharmed.  
There was a deep, booming rumble. Sora's keyblade, back in it's own Kingdom Key form, twitched by itself almost in response.  
"Would you mind..." Sand left it hanging, pointing at it. Sora held it out to him, knowing if Sand tried to take it, it would just return to him.  
Sand concentrated for a few moments, then repeated the same for Mickey's Kingdom Key.  
"I-I-I think we might want to run away," he managed weakly.  
"What's with you?" Sora asked.  
"Do you suppose we could run first, and I'll answer afterwards?"  
"Run from what?"  
"The small matter of that!" he pointed.  
Sora turned, seeing the towering, massive form of a Darkside – the massive Heartless that he'd fought when the darkness had come for the Destiny Islands.  
"Let me handle it," Sora muttered, raising one hand.  
"No – don't do anything, Sora! That's why the echo formed – you threw the Heartless off the causeway, then the echo came back to hit us. If you do anything to something that large, the echo will hit us."  
"He's gotta point, Sora. We don't dare fight it if the echoes are just going to come right back at us. You better leave off your power."  
"I don't like it, but... fine, we run to the next island."

_Halloween Town_

The town square was... different. Not entirely different, it was still recognisable, but it seemed to have been littered with many short, circle stone stumps, each one with the signature emblem of the Heartless atop them.  
"They're not Heartless," Roxas murmured, nudging one with his foot and finding it immovable. "What are they for?"  
"I don't know," Riku replied. "But I don't think they're anything to worry about. The artefact is further ahead."  
"How much further ahead?"  
"Do you know where Sora fought Oogie for the first time?"  
"Ah. There. Hold on then, I'll take us directly there."  
Riku put a hand to his stomach as Roxas ported them. All this porting around was starting to make him queasy.  
Queasy or not, the artefact's remains were unmissable. A small, almost neat heap of silver metal shards, just like the other two.  
Just like they had in both the previous areas, the area was checked and deemed safe and clear, so they set to work reassembling the artefact again. The previous two had shown no sign of... well, anything. Perhaps this one would be different?  
It wasn't. Roxas took out the other two, setting them side by side. The one from the Cave of Wonders resembled a lamp, while the one from Wonderland seemed to resemble a hand of cards. This one looked more like the teeth of a keyblade.  
Roxas frowned, examining them, then rearranged them so they were close enough for him to reach all three with one hand. As he did so, his eyes widened.  
"Xion." It was almost a whisper.  
"Who's Xion?"  
"I can't believe I forgot. Here, try it yourself. I'm certain it'll help you too."  
Riku followed Roxas' example, touching fingers to all three of them. Flashes of memories forgotten played back, of the time he'd worn the blindfold, wielded the Soul Eater against Xion... the imperfect replica, given a life of it's own by Sora's memories and the reason Roxas turned on the Organization.  
"And I never realized," Riku murmured in wonder. "Because she was made from memories, when she faded out of existance, the memories of her went with her."  
"Will these ones fade too?"  
"Who knows? If we forget, we can just use these again. Whatever they are."  
"Xion used them during the battle between us, just before I went back to the World that Never was and fought you. They transported us from area to area, and drew out more and more power and abilities."  
"That was why you went back."  
"She told me to stop Xemnas. If you hadn't stopped me..."  
"That was Sora's task, not yours."  
"I know that now. Lets get these back to the Arcology and find out what's happened while we've been gone."  
"Right. We ought to let them know about those weird stumps in town."  
"They're probably nothing."  
"Better to mention it and find it really isn't nothing, than not to and find it was."

_Island of the Second Echo_

They paused as they passed through the gateway into the second of the Echo Islands and looked back. The first island was gone, and the Darkside with it. In it's place was a wall of darkness, slowly creeping along the causeway that stretched from the ground upwards, and seemed to go for as far as could be seen in a near-straight line. It rippled as it crept forward.  
The second island was in a similar state to the first, but several areas were still on fire.  
"The darkness is consuming this world," Mickey murmured. "One island at a time. We have to find the keyhole, and quickly."  
"It's on the last island," Sora supplied absently.  
"How do you know?"  
"Esan told me."  
"Esan?"  
Sora blinked, then glanced down. "Oh. Right. I guess I forgot. When we were just about to come here, I heard a voice telling me to hurry to the Island of the Final Echo with my Kingdom Key. He knew me by name, and while we were on our way over to this island I heard him again.  
"What did he say?"  
"Not much. He let me know the Heartless were already on that island and that he was guarding the keyhole, but that he needed one of us to lock it. That's when he told me his name."  
"Could it be a trap?"  
"I don't think so. We'd better hurry – without a keyblade, he's not going to be able to handle the Heartless too easily."  
"There's another echo forming," Sand told them. "This one feels more recent."  
"Feels?"  
"It's not accurate. I'm trying to work within the limits of the language. Any moment now," he added, then the island blurred out of sight to become the familiar chamber where Sora recalled battling Jafar. Even the heat from the lava below seemed real.  
Jafar was conspicuously absent, however, and the platforms that had moved around during the battle with him remained stationary at their raised level.  
Mickey's Kingdom Key seemed to give a jerk in his hand, pulling toward something. They followed it's direction, and moments later a dark corridor opened. The Collective's Rai Kun emerged from it carrying a small black case, leaving the corridor open behind him.  
"Your Majesty; Grandmaster Sora," he greeted them both with an incline of his head. "We see you have ignored our warning."  
"I told you I wasn't going to listen to you," Sora growled. "This is your doing, isn't it?"  
"Turn back now. What happens here is not your concern."  
"Confirm something for me, and maybe I'll consider it."  
"What is it you want confirmed?"  
"I received word from the Arcology suggesting Seifer is one of you."  
"That is correct."  
"For how long?"  
"Before he became a part of the Arcology."  
"Why?"  
"It became necessary to meet our goals. Now we are necessary to meet his. Now will you turn back?"  
"No."  
"You said-"  
"I said I'd consider it. I never said I'd do it."  
"Very well. In that case..." Kun opened the case, and pulled out a dark grey lamp. It was held up, and out from it came red clouds that reached down into the lava, which rose up and formed into-  
"Jafar!" Sora exclaimed.  
"Jafar," Kun called up to the red genie above. "The Collective orders you to eliminate these three."  
Jafar peered down at the three of them and almost purred, "With great pleasure."  
Sora ignored him, making a dash for Kun and the lamp still in his hand, but Kun stepped back into the dark corridor before he caught him. Sora didn't stop, diving into the corridor after him. Kun didn't seem to have noticed him, and looked extremely surprised when Sora tackled him from behind, wresting the lamp back off him.  
"Foolish." Kun told him. "The corridor does not go backwards. You've cut yourself off."  
Sora pointed the Kingdom Key at Kun.  
"Then you'd better turn it around quick like."  
"Or what?"  
"I've killed one man before with this blade. You think I'm afraid to do it again?"  
"But kill me, and the corridor will collapse. You will be lost in the darkness."  
"I've been lost in the darkness before," he shrugged. "I just keep hold of my light, the light that never goes out, and I'll find my way again. But I prefer not to have to do that. Turn it around."  
Kun cocked his head, then shook his head.  
"The Collective refuses to help you, Grandmaster." The corridor seemed to shake around them. "It will collapse soon. Even if I am lost, you will also be lost."  
Sora had a sudden inspiration.  
"Oh yeah? Jafar! I know you can hear me; I've got your lamp. You want a piece of me? Bring me back to the cavern with the others, right now!" Sora felt a kind of jerk on his naval, realising Jafar had taken the bait and added, "So long, Kun. Tell your Collective if they want to stop me, they'll have to do better than that."  
The room he'd just left formed around him, with Jafar's face directly in front of him, grinning evilly. He realized he was stood on Jafar's hand, high in the air.  
"Sora!" Mickey and Sand both noticed his return. He turned, looked down and gave them a wink, then held out the lamp.  
"Too bad for you, Jafar. Back to your lamp with you!"  
Jafar stopped, seemingly stunned. Sora would have stayed to watch the rest, but instead leaped off his hand down to the platform, lamp in hand. By the time he turned back, the evil genie was just red clouds being pulled back into the lamp.  
"That was reckless, Sora!" Mickey told him.  
"I know. But without the lamp, we would have had no way to stop him. Now what do you say we smash this lamp, and be rid of the threat of Jafar for good?"  
"No, Sora. You'd kill Jafar. Evil or not, you shouldn't go that far."  
"I guess you're right... I'll have it locked in the restricted section of the Reliquary. See to it would you Sand – and don't get any ideas about trying to call on him."  
"Me?" Sand asked innocently. "Would I do a thing like that?"


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Yep, I'm back at work on this story too, and without forgetting what I was doing with it either.  
If you can figure out who the stranger is in this chapter, then you're may well have figured out more of the relationship between Esan and Sora - beyond what's already mentioned, that is.

* * *

_Island of the Third Echo_

The wall of darkness had continued its slow, steady advance while they had been on the previous island, but the moment they passed through the gate to the third it had shot forward to engulf it with a massive crash and rumble.  
The waters had been pushed forward by it in a great tide, washing over the shores of the third island in a slightly less impressive crash. When it faded, the roar of water filled their ears.  
"Hollow Bastion," Sora identified the echo that had formed. "The Rising Falls that surrounded it when Maleficent was trying to unlock the Final Keyhole."  
"Oddly appropriate," Mickey remarked. "Since we'll probably have to go to the real thing if we can't stop the Collective."  
"I don't intend to give them time to collect the princesses," Sora replied. "Sand should be back shortly; he'll give us a status update. Until then, we might as well push forward. I know the way through this area."  
Mickey nodded, following his lead from floating cliff to rock, rock to ledge. He had it somewhat easier than Sora with an agility that was not readily apparent otherwise.  
The island as it had appeared, like the previous two, had been destroyed. There was nothing above ground level. However, as they rose up through the area, it was apparent that either the echoes could become solid, or they remained at ground level and it was the echoes that sank down instead.  
Sora paused before leaping to one of the larger, more intact chunks. Small channels filtered water around what may once have been a central square, pillars on one side.  
"Something up?" Mickey asked him.  
He nodded slowly, glancing down to his Keyblade a moment. "This is where I finally caught up with Riku on my first adventure. He stood opposite me on that chunk and took the Keyblade from me."  
"He took it from you?"  
"Yeah. We talked about it later, it was because for that moment, his Heart was stronger than mine. Donald and Goofy went with him when he left, leaving me alone with a toy sword I used to have. It wasn't until I confronted him up in the actual castle itself I got it back."  
"You're worried it'll happen again, aren't you?"  
"What? No, it's just a memory that came up... and a place I kinda hadn't expected to see again."  
"It's just an echo, Sora," Mickey reminded him. "Come on. Let's keep moving."  
Sora nodded, jumping up onto the platform, then pausing again.  
"Someone's here. I can feel it."  
"Who are you meant to be?" a voice asked from opposite him, where Riku had stood. He looked a lot like Riku had while using the darkness, but the suit worn was made from blacks and reds, and the stranger wore a kind of black mask that obscured his face.  
In one hand was a massive weapon, possibly a Keyblade but it was difficult to tell. Like the suit, it too was black and red, with a wide handle that seemed to have a blue eye where it connected to the blade, which in turn had chains wrapped around it and a gear in the middle. The tip also resembled a gear, again connected with another blue eye.  
"Vanitas!" Mickey identified him, surprised.  
"How do you know me?"  
"Don't you remember me? I stopped you from bullying Ven!"  
"Ven... you mean Ventus. I see. I don't know those events. The question reminds... who're you meant to be?"  
"You're talking to King Mickey," Sora gestured beside him, then to himself, "And Grandmaster Sora."  
"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Vanitas replied. He tapped the side of mask, which retracted down to just a kind of metal guard that ran along his jaw. The face revealed looked similar to Sora's but with jet black hair, and golden eyes.  
"Don't be put off," Mickey warned him when Sora drew in a sharp breath. "He's just an echo."  
"An echo, hm?" Vanitas mused. "Is that what you believe?"  
Mickey glanced to Sora curiously.  
"I can try," he answered the unspoken question. "Without Sand there's no way to be certain though."  
"It'll have to do. Give it a go."  
He nodded again, closing his eyes in concentration while Mickey watched Vanitas carefully in case he made any move.  
Sora drew on the power from the Arcology, sending it out in pulses around him similar to a radar system.  
The echoes returned only faint pulses, as if they'd hit something further away, while anything real came back stronger. Hollow Bastion and it's rising falls were echoes, but the pulses revealed the true landscape underneath them. They were still at ground level, standing not far from the gate that lead to the fourth island.  
He picked up two people nearby, one of course was Mickey.  
"He's real," Sora said at last. "Not an echo. But he's not what he appears to be. What I'm getting back doesn't match what we see."  
The Vanitas image nodded. "So it's true," he murmured. "Welcome home, Sora."  
"What are you talking about? My home... was the Destiny Islands, and is now my Arcology."  
"Home has different meanings to different people though. To our people, it will always be the Echo Islands."  
"I'm not one of your people."  
"You are, though you do not realise it."  
"Who _are_ you? Really, I mean."  
"Esan will explain it to you when you reach him. Just tell him..." he sighed, looking over to the waterfalls, then shook his head and continued, "Tell him I'm sorry for what I did to his mother, and doubly sorry I didn't say that sooner."  
"You can tell him yourself if you come with us."  
"No. I know what's to come. I'll remain here and hold off the darkness for as long as possible. You'll need it when you reach the Island of the Final Echo. Now go, Sora. Go and meet Esan."  
"We will, just as soon as the echo fades," Mickey replied.  
"Oh. Right. I guess I forgot." He made a vague gesture with the weapon, and the ruined island returned around them. In place of the image of Vanitas was a tall yet distinguished old man that held similar features to both Sora and Roxas, but with grey hair that reached down his back, between two large, bright white wings. In place of the weapon he had been holding while appearing to be Vanitas was what appeared to be a Kingdom Key, burnished the same white as his wings. Unlike the Kingdom Keys Sora knew of so far, this one had teeth on both sides of the blade, and instead of showing the outline of a crown, they instead showed a star on one side, and a crescent moon on the other side.  
"He looks a lot like you," Mickey murmured.  
"Actually, the reverse is true. Same goes for Esan. There was something else I had to tell you too..." he trailed off, looking skyward for a moment, then with a snap of his fingers, he half-shouted, "That's it! You're also looking for the One who is Not, aren't you?"  
"How did you know?"  
"I wrote the inscription you got that from."  
"Who does it mean?"  
"A young girl you call Naminé. I think that's all. Now you'd better get going before the Darkside gets here. Leave that thing to me."  
Sora nodded, murmured, "Thanks," in passing, then he and Mickey pushed onwards, headed for the fourth of the islands.  
"Are you sure we should trust him?" Mickey asked him. "He did pretend to be Vanitas."  
"I don't think he had a choice in that," Sora disagreed. "That was just an echo that overlaid him. I think he was just waiting for us. We've got a problem though, if he's right."  
"Which problem's that?"  
"Naminé is going to need all three Kingdom Keys, and I'm going to have to go after Seifer to get Kairi."  
"Mind if I offer a solution?" Sand's voice asked, as he ported nearby falling into step beside them.  
"In a moment. Update report?"  
"Collective agents have been picked up in the worlds of all six of the other princesses of Heart and in Radiant Garden, unconfirmed sighting of Seifer in Atlantica but no sign of Kairi. I'm afraid we've heard nothing of the Cornerstone as yet, your Majesty."  
"Good work all the same," Sora complimented him. "Now, your suggestion?"  
"Borrow someone else's Keyblade, and have them borrow your Kingdom Key."  
"Wouldn't work," Mickey shook his head. "The Kingdom Keys choose their wielders."  
"Actually, that's not entirely true," Sora disagreed with him again. "Riku could wield my Kingdom Key, and he's borrowed it once or twice since then."  
"Riku only has the Way to the Dawn Keyblade though, and that's more useful in his hands than yours."  
"True. I think Ventus might be able to use it too though. His Heart did spend all that time with mine, remember."  
"What about the keyhole that Esan told you about?" Mickey asked.  
"Your key can lock keyholes too, can't it?"  
"I guess I forgot for a moment," he murmured, faintly embarrassed. "Sand, do you think you could bring Ventus to us?"  
"Sure thing," he answered. "He took his friends up to Ansem's Mansion to protect it in case the Collective tried anything."  
"We should have thought of that," Sora shook his head ruefully. "Fetch him for me, Sand. Tell him what's going on as you go, have him get his Keyblade ready to exchange for mine, then get him back to the mansion as soon as the changeover is done." Sora glanced over at the next island, then added, "You've got about ten minutes before we hit the next echo. Get moving."

_Ansem's Mansion  
__Basement_

"Something's coming," Ienzo warned Ven. "Readings suggest it's a Heartless."  
"Aqua? Terra?" he asked shortly, worried.  
"They're swamped in them, but it looks like they're handling it. Is your Keyblade..."  
Ven shook one hand, Wayward Wind appearing in it.  
"Looks like it's alright for now. I'll be just outside," he added, then closed the door behind him.  
Moments later, two Neoshadows stalked around the corner. They spotted him and charged, but they were little match for a few well placed strikes on each. Almost as soon as they disappeared, one wall pulsed and Sora's sometime messenger Sand stepped out.  
"You've got your Keyblade out already," he nodded. "Good. Come with me, quick."  
"What's happening?"  
"You're going to be a bit more special than before," he replied with a faint grin. "Sora's going to lend you his Kingdom Key and borrow your Keyblade from you."  
"Will that work?"  
"Sora and Mickey think so. I'll explain the rest on the way back, you'll have to run with me for a bit and be ready to swap Keyblades on short notice."  
"No time to waste then. Lets get moving."  
Sand took his free hand, leading him down the corridor at a run into a pulse of light at the end. The view was purely white for a few moments, then cleared to a sandy bar, just beside Sora. Sand let go of his hand.  
He handed Wayward Wind to Sora in one hand, taking his Kingdom Key in the other, then Sand grabbed his shoulder again and they were running back down the corridor, slowing.  
"Quick," Ven noted, breathing slightly heavier. "You said there was more?"  
Sand nodded, "Naminé is the One who is Not, and that means all three Kingdom Keys have to be present. Seifer's been revealed as a traitor and a Collective member, and kidnapped Kairi, so Sora's going to go after her while you, Mickey and whoever holds the third Key help Naminé."  
"Makes sense. Might be a problem though."  
"Oh?"  
"My Keyblades have been a bit... unreliable. More me than them actually. Sometimes I can't wield any Keyblade at all."  
"We'll have to hope it doesn't happen while Naminé needs you then. Can't stick around for much longer, I'm on orders to get back to Sora right away."  
Ven nodded, watching him leave, then experimentally swung the Kingdom Key a few times. It somehow even felt powerful in his hand.  
Two more Neoshadows rounded the corner. This time, a single stroke on each was enough to fell them.  
"Formidable," he murmured.  
The door behind him hissed open, and Ienzo glanced out.  
"Did something just happen to you?"  
"Sora and I exchanged Keyblades, why?"  
He glanced down, noticing the Kingdom Key in hand.  
"Interesting. What for?"  
"Naminé really is the one we need to take on the Collective, except he's going after Kairi because Seifer kidnapped her, so I'm taking his place here with the Key. Do you want to tell me why you're so curious?"  
"I've been monitoring you since you mentioned your unreliable Keyblade. You were right, it was your incomplete Heart that was making it unresponsive at times, but since a few moments ago your Heart just became mysteriously complete."  
"Sora's Kingdom Key. It must have finished the job for me."  
"Seems like it. Stay here though, if nothing else so I can keep a watch on you."  
But Ven shook his head, "The Kingdom Keys are more effective against the Heartless. I've got to go help my friends."  
"At least be careful."  
"Naturally," he grinned, then left, headed up to relieve the load on Terra and Aqua.


	15. Chapter 15

_Atlantica_

Atlantica was one of the few worlds that the Arcology had special rules when it came to arrival and departure. For one thing, due to the majority of the world being underwater, members were restricted to heading there from an already existent body of water where they were, and returning the same way.  
Roxas had stopped by one of the swimming pools within the Arcology before heading here on the trail of an unconfirmed sighting of Seifer, and was starting to regret the choice almost immediately. Swimming with legs is one thing. Swimming when you've just become a half-dolphin, on the other hand, is not so easy. At least he no longer had to worry about trying to hold his breath underwater, though how that worked he had no idea.  
This was one of the worlds he'd never actually been to before now, and so was in literally unfamiliar waters.  
"Head down, Roxas," Riku's voice told him in his ear. An experimental waterproof earpiece allowed Riku to pass things on to him from the dryness of the Arcology, while a similarly waterproofed mike taped to his throat would let Riku hear him.  
He was also able to see anything Roxas was only through the reluctant addition of a contact lens in one eye that doubled as a camera.  
"Easier said than done," he told Riku. "You don't have fins and a tail instead of legs."  
"Remind me again. Who was it who wanted to do this?"  
"Never mind that," he answered, starting to head downwards. "What am I meant to be looking for?"  
"Apparently, if it was Seifer he's become part shark. Like you with your blue tail, but he's grey instead."  
"And Kairi?"  
"I don't have anything on her, Roxas. We went over this before you left."  
"I got a bit distracted adjusting to this."  
Riku tried not to laugh at him as he made his way down into a canyon, looking around for anything that looked even remotely shark or Seifer like.  
"Don't forget to look up and down," Riku reminded him.  
"Do you want to do this?"  
"Not me, Roxas. I'm staying high and dry today."  
"Coward," he muttered, continuing on down. Several fish watched him pass curiously, along with a number of crabs that had paused in hitting some oyster shells. There was nothing to suggest anything out of the ordinary here.  
He passed through several caverns, then was shoved off-course into another canyon area with several sunken ships.  
"Riku," he murmured, seeing a light blink from one of them.  
"I see it too. Circle around and come at it from your right. If there is someone aboard that ship, they won't notice you so easily."  
Roxas nodded, flipping his tail to get moving again. It wasn't as hard as it had seemed at first, once he figured out the tail.  
The ship was an old-style sailing ship, fairly large, and it seemed recently sunken too. Aside from a missing main mast and one large hole in the hull which had probably sunken it, it was actually fully intact.  
The light from the captain's cabin was still clearly visible, illuminating the darker waters around it.  
"Your mike's picking up vibrations in the water," Riku told him. "Hard to say what from, unless you're humming."  
"Me?" he almost whispered, in case his voice carried further in the water. "Are you trying to be funny?"  
"You're doing that all by yourself. Naminé would love to see you like that, you know."  
"You dare..." he threatened quietly.  
"Relax. It's not like I can get a decent picture of all of you anyway."  
"So long as you don't try... what about those vibrations?"  
"You'll need to get closer before I can tell anything more. Go careful." There was an almost flat silence. "Sorry," Riku mumbled. "Bad habit Sora gave me."  
Roxas shook his head, then headed warily closer. Once he reached the ship, he stopped swimming and just grabbed hold of the ship to get around instead.  
"Close as you can," Riku added quietly, even though only Roxas could hear him anyway. He nodded all the same, pulling himself toward the door to the cabin.  
"Now?" he whispered.  
"Hold on," Riku replied, then, "They're voices alright, but I can't pick up anything distinct. Maybe you can get to one of the windows?"  
It was a simple matter to use the ship's own structure to float just above one windows, then when Riku confirmed he still heard nothing, he started to glance warily down and in, moving around to try to get a better view.  
"Did you see that?" he murmured at one point.  
"No. Think you can get another view of whatever it was you saw?"  
"Give me a moment," he answered, then glanced down again, this time keeping the view for longer.  
Since ships have a habit of rocking from side to side when at sea, the furniture is usually nailed to the deck, explaining why very little in the cabin had shifted much.  
Floating at the near end of the table, facing away from him was someone who fitted the description of Seifer, though with his back turned it was difficult to tell. The light in the cabin came from a flashlight he'd attached to a hook at the back of the room, leaving it floating in the right general direction.  
At the other end of the table, facing them was the unmistakable form of Ursula. Thankfully, she seemed to be interested in something handed to her, so she didn't catch sight of him.  
Roxas drew back up again.  
"I saw," Riku confirmed. "Wonder what that was Ursula had?"  
"I could find out if you're that curious."  
"Better not. Apparently we're not to risk any kind of confrontation with Seifer. But if he's here, where's Kairi?"  
"If Ursula's involved, I think I know just the place to find out. Can you guide me to Ursula's lair?"  
"Are you crazy? What are you going to do if she catches you there?"  
"I'll say I got lost. She doesn't know who I am, so she won't be all that suspicious."  
"You look exactly like Sora did when he went there, Roxas. Just because your hair is different doesn't mean she won't mistake you for him – and anyway, Aqua mistook you for Sora, remember?"  
"Yeah, alright, point taken. I'll try it anyway, but I don't think I'm going to get caught. Now are you going to give me those directions or not?"  
"Give me a few moments to find her lair on my map of Atlantica. Best start getting clear from there in case they leave that ship anytime soon."

_Island of the Fourth Echo_

There was no echo at all on this island. Not yet, at least. There was also no town. Not destroyed, just not there at all. It was hard to say why the island was bare except for natural life.  
On the other hand, there was no shortage of Heartless, nor any lack of variety in them. Sora had begun to pick up on the odd reverse-grip Ven's Keyblade seemed to require after a few pointers from Mickey, and was now destroying them just as effectively as normal, though with just a little less power. The Kingdom Keys were still more effective than other Keyblades when it came to Heartless.  
The wall of darkness behind them did not make another massive leap forward this time either. The stranger they'd met there was apparently keeping his word, holding back the darkness and the Darkside within it for as long as he could.  
It was Sand who surprised them all though. At first, Sora thought he'd disappeared to get to safety, but he'd returned moments later wielding a massive claymore, reminiscent of the one he'd seen Saïx wield, but less fancy.  
Sora knew that out of habit, Sand shared in the same gift he'd given to all his people, the ability to harm the Heartless without needing a Keyblade of any kind, and so was unsurprised to find that the claymore did almost as much alone as he and Mickey did together.  
The Heartless didn't last forever though, and before long they were alone on the island again.  
"Is that all of them?" Sand asked.  
"I think so," Mickey answered, nodding. "I think we'd know if there were others."  
"Sora!" a new voice called out, but Sora recognised it. It belonged to Esan. "You've got to hurry, I can't hold of these Heartless much longer!"  
"Esan just said-" he started, but he dropped off when he realised they'd all heard him. "Anyone feeling like running for a bit more?" he asked mildly. "It doesn't look like that far to the last island."  
"Wait!" Sand warned, looking around warily. "There's an echo coming!"  
The island disappeared with a sound like rushing air, replaced with the area Sora recognised as the base of Memory Skyscraper. The sound of a dark corridor opening made them all turn to see someone wearing the signature black coat of the Organization, who strode towards Sora purposefully.  
When he drew close, the scene changed again, becoming a single circle platform, depicting Sora and his friends on it.  
"Roxas," Sora murmured. "I remember this. I was the only one who could see him... he wanted to test me, I think. We fought, then he told me I made a good other."  
"Looks like we'll have to fight him again," Mickey said. "Only this time, you'll have us with you-"  
"No. I did it once before, I can do it again. Leave him to me."  
The echo of Roxas used the same two Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and the same tactics as Sora remembered. Roxas sent him up into the air, then when they returned to the ground again, he pounded on Sora's borrowed Keyblade. This time, Sora was ready for him, deliberately stepping back to catch Roxas off guard with the unexpected retreat. The finishing blow was dealt the same.  
The echo dropped the Keyblades, then walked past him, hood down showing Roxas.  
"You make a good other," the echo told him, the scene fading back to the island.  
"A good other," Sora nodded, satisfied. "So do you, Roxas."  
"Are we done here?" Mickey asked at last.  
Sora nodded, "We can move on now. Esan needs us."  
There was another crash as they passed through the gate onto the causeway to the Island of the Final Echo. One glance told them the stranger they'd met had finally fallen. The third island had been consumed, and the wall of darkness was moving much quicker than before.

_Sora's Arcology  
__Pool 3_

Riku sat nearby the poolside, keeping a close eye on Roxas. He was swimming away from something, but he'd missed whatever Roxas had seen, and was either ignoring Riku, or concentrating on getting away.  
Finally, he ported himself back to the Arcology, a flash of light appearing in front of him. Riku glanced up to see a matching flash appear in the pool ahead, and Roxas come swimming through. For a moment, he retained the half-dolphin form he'd had in Atlantica, then he reverted to his normal, human self, wearing the swimming trunks. The abrupt change caused him to flounder for a few moments before he managed to get to the surface, coughing and spluttering. In one hand, he held a small box. Riku met him down by the poolside, giving a hand out of the water, then handing him a towel.  
"What happened to you?" he asked when Roxas began to breath more normally again.  
"I got seen by those two overgrown eels Ursula keeps around. Managed to get that box off them though. If I heard them right, Ursula had given it to them and told them to stash it in her lair."  
"Any idea what's inside it?"  
"Nope. Drain it, dry it off and have a look."  
"You're still wet, you do it."  
Roxas sighed, or tried to and coughed a little more. "Never try to breath water outside of Atlantica," he wheezed. "Not good for you."  
"I noticed," Riku murmured with a faint smile.  
The box turned out to contain three things.  
One was Kairi's silver teardrop pendant. The second was a keychain in the form of a Paopu fruit, which would turn any Keyblade into the Destiny's Embrace Keyblade, known to be Kairi's rarely seen Keyblade. The last was a star, made from Thalassa Shells. Kairi's good-luck charm, and the keychain for Oathkeeper.  
Roxas and Riku shared a worried look between them. There was no need for words – the presence of three of Kairi's most treasured belongings said everything for them.


	16. Chapter 16

_Island of the Final Echo  
__Entry gate_

Unlike the other islands, it was readily apparent that this one had been left untouched. A deserted village, with some impressive scenic surroundings, but deserted nonetheless.  
There had been no further word from Esan, and no sign of any Heartless either. This contradicted Esan's warning, as he'd implied there were too many for him to handle.  
Sora warily lead them up the single stone path that lead into the village, constantly checking his surroundings. After the other islands, he wasn't about to let anything get the better of him. Not after coming this far.  
The sky had now been almost totally blotted out by the dark barrier, which he now saw clearly surrounding this last island.  
Reluctantly, he discarded his wary approach, and picked up speed as they headed through the village. Neatly constructed wooden houses, all with thatched roofs and well tended gardens, but all abandoned. As if something had just picked up the residents and taken them away, leaving nothing but the town behind.  
The lone stone path wound up a hillside, crossing from side to side at a shallow incline, instead of taking the steeper route directly up. The path didn't look like it had seen much use anyway.  
"Sora," Sand called to him from behind. "There's something at the top."  
He glanced up in time to see several Soldier Heartless rolling a number of Large Body Heartless between them to the top of the hill, then pushing them down toward them. The steep incline let them pick up an almost deadly speed.  
Sand redirected one aimed for him with a wide swing of his massive blade, but Sora and Mickey were in no position to fend off this attack. Sora hesitated for a moment, then grumbling under his breath he waved a hand above him. Part of the air solidified into an off-white platform, centred above him.  
"Get underneath it," he told them. "It'll deflect their attacks."  
"What about the returning echo?" Mickey asked him.  
"I doubt something as small as this will have an echo serious enough to worry us." One Large Body slammed into the top of the platform, sent bouncing off and away below. As it impacted, Sora's knees buckled, as if the weight of the platform had been on him. "I'm alright," he breathed, getting back up again.  
"You can't keep supporting it if that keeps happening."  
"I can bear it. Keep moving – the longer we stay still, the more of a target we become, and the more of that I have to put up with. I'm not going to wait for you," he added, already setting off up the path, trying to keep ahead of the barrage of Heartless behind rolled down onto them.  
Several still caught the hovering platform though, and Sora had to pause each time to recover from the impact, sometimes sustaining several more blows before he could finally get back to his feet. They made it to the top eventually though, allowing Sand and Mickey to handle the Heartless on the narrow lawns that lay between the top of the hill, and the massive white walls that lead in a near-perfect straight line in both directions.  
Sora remained by the entrance long enough to get his strength back, then headed through the open gates ahead, into the central gardens contained within the walls. They could be called ornate, if simple. Four white paths lead out from a squat central structure, both circling the edges of that structure and the insides of the walls, splitting the gardens into four separate areas.  
The closest two were grassy lawns, both dotted with two small pyramidical buildings each, and a variety of plants spaced out and around. In contrast to this, the far two were more sandy, and held more tropical looking plants. Like the near quarters, they still held two of the oddly shaped buildings.  
All the quarters held one thing in common though. A mass of Shadows. Not normally a threat, but these were far larger than they should have been.  
"Mickey! Sand! I need you in here!" he called over his shoulder, hoping they were still within range to hear him. Almost as soon as they'd passed through the gates, he added, "Give me a hand with these things, will you? We want to get to that central building."  
"Care for some extra help?" Riku's voice asked, as he and Roxas appeared nearby. "We thought you might want a hand."  
"Better late than not at all," Sora replied, adjusting his grip on Wayward Wind.  
Sand took on the massive Shadows single-handed with his massive blade, but the rest of them worked in pairs, Sora with Roxas, and Mickey with Riku. The Shadows seemed unperturbed by their appearance, and shrugged off blows that would have sent their smaller cousins flying. Though their attacks remained the same, the amount of force behind them and the resilience they showed made them tough opponents to crack.  
Their size limited their numbers however, and as the numbers dwindled, it became easier and easier to take them on, until they cornered the last one in front of the door to the central building. Between them all, it stood no chance.  
Before they had the chance to open the door that lead inside, the scene vanished though, becoming an enlarged copy of Sora's office in the Arcology. It wasn't his office though – it lacked his personal touches.  
The other dead give away was the occupant stood just in front of the desk, facing away from them. It had long black coat, a blade longer than the man was tall, and a large navy wing on one side.  
Sora's expression hardened, and his hands whitened as he tightened the grip on Wayward Wind. There was no denying who and what this was an echo of.  
Roxas glanced to Sora, then prudently took a few steps away from him, motioning for the others to do the same. Mickey and Sand followed, but Riku remained nearby.  
"Want a hand this time?" he murmured.  
"Stay out of it," Sora told him harshly. "This is between me and him."  
"You don't have to do it alone this time."  
"I didn't have to last time, but I did. I did it once before, I can do it again."  
"What will that prove, Sora? That you're better than him? We already know that."  
Sora's expression didn't change. He remained focused on the figure before him.  
Now Mickey warily returned, taking Sora's other side. "Riku's right. You shouldn't be doing this alone, echo or not. Your friends have always been your strength."  
"I guess that stops me from sitting this one out too," Roxas said with a faint chuckle. "I can hardly not be your friend. Come on Sand. You might as well join in too."  
"I said stay out of it," Sora told them, just loud enough to be heard."  
"We heard," Riku replied. "We're also ignoring you."  
The echo of Sephiroth turned to face them at last, examining one hand, then the other as he brought Masamune into his hand.  
"So, Sora," he said in his soft voice. "We meet again. Do you think you can take me on one more time?"  
"It doesn't matter how many times you face me," Sora answered. "You'll still lose every time."  
"Perhaps. But I think when gifted with a second chance thus... the only proper thing to do is to see if I can change that streak."  
"Give up, Sephiroth. You can't win."  
"Oh no? This is an echo, and you know it, Sora. Your various abilities and powers are useless against me. This time, it's just you and me. Your Keyblade, and my Masamune. No more."  
"You can't stop me if I call in anything else," he warned Sephiroth.  
"No. But I expect a fair fight this time. You cheated last time, using the power of others to overpower me."  
Sora glanced to Mickey, Roxas, then Riku in turn, then back to Sephiroth.  
"It's not cheating when it comes from my friends – and my friends are my strength. Come on everyone – we'll take him on together."  
"Then you'll fall together," Sephiroth answered with a faint smirk, then rushed them. Sand met his first blow head on, Mickey swiftly moving to his rear to attack, then almost dancing back when the massive Masamune turned toward him. Roxas followed up this attack with Oblivion, turning Sephiroth's attention on him, then Riku followed suit with Way to the Dawn. Once Sephiroth had been surrounded, Sora caught his attention again with Wayward Wind.  
Between them, they caught his attention long enough for each of the others to rain blows onto him that forced him to reorient on another of them, who would then defend themselves long enough for him to find another target.  
After several rounds of this, he leapt over Mickey, turning sharply to make a wide swing for as many of them as Masamune could reach, but Sora got between them soon enough to stop the strike in it's tracks.  
The force behind it was enough to push him back though, normally something that would have left him open, but Roxas quickly covered for him, Mickey taking back the other side as they drove him back across the massive room toward one wall.  
Once more, he took advantage of Mickey's diminutive size to avoid being pinned against the wall, but Sand was ready for it this time, aiming one powerful strike upward that caught one leg and sent Sephiroth tumbling to the ground.  
He recovered quickly, getting back to his feet only just in time to block a second strike by Sand, this time with a counter-attack that sent Sand flying. Before he could go after him to dish out any further punishment, Sora and Roxas barred his path side by side and ready to fight back once more.  
Mickey took advantage of this distraction to circle around, aiming to get behind him. As Sephiroth made yet more strikes, trying to break through their concerted defences, he edged closer, until the one-winged angel paused in mid-swing, looking curious. As he glanced behind him, his remaining wing seemed to tilt away from his back slightly, then slipped off, onto the ground.  
Sephiroth turned to face Mickey, but Sora quickly recaptured his attention, taking Oblivion from Roxas and flinging it at his unprotected back, allowing Mickey to get safely clear.  
As Roxas caught Oblivion, Sora advanced on Sephiroth, guiding Sand and Roxas to blocking his path until Sephiroth was once more backed up against a wall. He made several attacks that seemed almost desperate, though his expression betrayed none of this, then Sora delivered a powerful blow to the hand that held Masamune, forcing him to drop it.  
It was sent skittering away over the floor with one kick, then Sora pinned him against the wall.  
"I told you," Sora told him, so quietly that only he and Sephiroth could hear. "I told you, you can't win. You'll never beat me, Sephiroth. Echo, shade, it doesn't matter to me. Every time you try to get in my way, I'll strike you down again, just as I have every time before now. You won't defeat me, not now, not once, not ever."  
"I had to try, Sora," Sephiroth answered. "I had to try. This echo was my only chance to see if I could achieve it at last. You'd do the same in my place."  
"I'm not you, Sephiroth. I'm better than that."  
"That's a matter of perspective. I'm content now. I can rest in peace, though I'd appreciate it if you'd pay a call on me from time to time, keep me up to date on what's happening outside."  
"I'll... think about it."  
Sephiroth nodded, patting one shoulder with a faint smile, then he and the echo faded, returning them to the gardens. Sora was stood just in front of the closed door to the inside of the Sanctuary, which opened with a rough grinding sound.  
Before them stood someone who looked identical to Sora, though with grey hair, a grey shirt, and grey pants. In one hand he held a Kingdom Key, with a white handle, black blade and a red grip.  
"Esan?" Sora murmured.  
Esan nodded, then smiled, "Hello, little brother."


	17. Chapter 17

_Island of the Final Echo_

"Bit of a shock, I know," Esan was telling them in his distinctive musical voice. "I mean, even I didn't know until recently."  
"But... how's it even possible?" Sora asked.  
"Oh, our people are known to have all kinds of abilities, and it seems my taking up this Kingdom Key has enhanced them far beyond their normal limits, which is definitely on the useful side."  
"I meant how you and I can be brothers."  
"That? Well, as I understand it, after Mum and Dad fell out, she left the Echo Islands for good and ended up meeting the guy who became your Dad over on the Destiny Islands, and that's why you don't have the wings or the greyness that the rest of us have – you're only half-angel."  
"Angel?" Sora echoed with some surprised. "I'm... an angel?"  
"Oh yes," he confirmed, leading them around the next corner. "Bit of a surprise, huh? If you happen to come across something called the Angel's Feather, you can sort of temporarily reclaim the missing parts of your angelic heritage for as long as you wear it. There's one for every half-angel in existence, but since you're the only one, there is only one. This is the place, by the way," he added, laying a hand against a grey slab marked with runes. It seemed to waver and vanish at his touch.  
The room beyond was empty, and like many other things here, grey. A square grey stone with an indentation matching the Kingdom Keys, grey walls... though on the back wall was a wooden door, with both a heart and a keyhole on it. "I'm sure you know what to do, Sora," Esan said, gesturing to the keyhole.  
"Uh... well... for other reasons, I kinda... lent out my Kingdom Key. But Mickey's should be able to lock it too," he added brightly.  
"Hmm. The Kingdom Key from the realm of Darkness, right? Guess it can't hurt to give it a try. Go ahead, your Majesty."  
Mickey pointed it to the keyhole just as Sora had done so many times before with his own.  
Nothing happened. Not even the gathering of light that normally appeared at the tip of the Keyblade.  
"This world is in the realm In-between, isn't it?" Mickey asked Esan.  
"You know what? I haven't the faintest. But just give me a moment, and I'll see if I can figure it out." His eyes glowed blue briefly, lips moving soundlessly, then he sighed. "Well this is a bit of a problem."  
"It's in the realm of Light, isn't it?" Roxas asked, suspecting he knew what came next.  
"Apparently so. I don't suppose one of these fellows happens to be the one borrowing your Key?"  
Sora looked embarrassed. "Um. No... he's kinda over in Twilight Town."  
"Well, bugger. And the darkness is coming too quickly for you to fetch it."  
"Sorry Esan. I should have thought of this before I lent it out."  
"Ah, don't worry about it," he brushed it aside. "Sure, I'm going to miss this place, but I guess I always knew I wasn't destined to stay here forever. I guess we'd better go before we get separated by the darkness."  
Sora nodded, then turned to face the others. "Sand, I want you to take Mickey and Esan to Twilight Town so they can help Naminé take on the Collective. You'll have to explain things to Esan as we go along, probably."  
"Oh, don't worry about me. I'll muddle through somehow," Esan murmured. "What about you, little brother? What are you going to get up to?"  
"I'm going to find Kairi, and make Seifer very sorry he ever acted against me," he answered bleakly.  
"Would you mind if we stopped by your office first, Sora?" Roxas asked. "Only there's a few things Riku and I came across that you'll want to see."  
"Right. Now, lets get out of here before it's too late."

_Twilight Town  
__Mansion Gates_

They'd driven the Heartless back out of the mansion, then out of the walls, but from there because of the sheer number of them, they merely had to hold them off, even with the aid of Sora's Kingdom Key.  
After a time though, they all just stopped, glancing up at the sky for a moment, then ran into the forests and out of sight.  
"What was _that_ about?" Ven wondered curiously, staring after them in bemusement. Heartless didn't run away, especially when faced with one Keyblade – let alone three, one of which being Sora's Kingdom Key.  
"Look," Aqua pointed, concerned. "A star is going out."  
"And that means?" Terra prompted.  
"A world is being destroyed by the darkness."  
"I wonder if Sora knows," Ven murmured.  
"He does," Mickey's voice said from behind. "We sorta made a mistake in giving you his Kingdom Key. Turns out we did it just a bit early."  
They turned to see him, along with Sand, and a stranger that was resemblant of Sora, but with grey hair, and a simplified wardrobe in the same greys.  
"Oh, I don't know about that," the stranger replied, seemingly unconcerned. "If we hadn't done it, it's entirely possible we'd never have found out which Realm the Echo Islands were in, and that's useful to know."  
"But the Echo Islands are no more," Sand pointed out. "Your home is no more."  
"I know," he sighed, shoulder slumping. "And I'm going to miss the place, but I guess it was inevitable. Anyway, aren't we meant to be doing something here?"  
"Right," Mickey nodded. "Sand will stay here with you two, while Ventus comes with us. We've got to help Naminé take on the Collective."  
"So you're the keeper of the third key," Ven said, looking at the stranger.  
"That's me," he agreed. "Name's Esan. I'm an angel, you know." As if to emphasise this, he turned sideways to show his wings.  
"We can talk about such things later," Mickey cut them off. "Let's get to work, everyone."  
Sand leaned against one wall as the three wandered into the mansion.  
"I don't suppose you can tell us?" Terra asked him.  
"Probably, but you'll have to be more specific than that," he answered.  
"Why Ven has Sora's Keyblade."  
"Oh, that. Well, Seifer's been discovered to be a Collective agent who kidnapped Kairi, so Sora's gone off after him. But since his key was needed to help Naminé take on that Collective, he borrowed Ven's Keyblade so he could go off after Seifer, while Ventus took his place here."  
"Neat," Aqua remarked.  
"Sora's idea," Sand nodded. "He comes up with this bright ideas from time to time. Did we miss anything interesting going on here?"  
"Just the Heartless. Ven was right to bring us here just in case. If we hadn't been here, Ienzo and Naminé would have been caught unawares."  
"Convenient. Sora was right; we should have thought of this before. Do you want to deal with them, by the way?" he asked, pointing toward the woods. Several Heartless had reappeared, heading for them.  
"Why don't you pull your weight too? Lend a hand."  
"I don't know," Sand sighed. "I just get out of fighting echoes and Heartless with Sora, only to have to deal with some more." Then he got up and swung the massive claymore at the closest Heartless.

_Sora's Arcology  
__Grandmaster's Office_

Roxas had disappeared almost as soon as they appeared, claiming he needed to fetch some things, leaving him alone with Riku.  
"I could sleep for a week," Sora sighed wearily, leaning back in his chair.  
"Don't lie," Riku replied. "You're enjoying yourself. It's another adventure for you, and you love going on adventures."  
"I guess that's true," he laughed. "They're more interesting times, at least. Have to admit it's nice to have a quiet bit between adventures though, even if it is just to run this place. Don't suppose you know what Roxas is after?"  
"Yep, but better that you see it yourself. Is he still your Nobody, by the way?"  
Sora waved one hand uncertainly, "Technically, he still is. We still have ties to each other, but since he's a Somebody in his own right now I'm not entirely sure what our relation is. Why do you ask?"  
"Couldn't he be considered your brother too then?"  
"I guess, but why?"  
"Come on, Sora. Do you really want to be the youngest brother?"  
"Roxas is the same age as me, Riku."  
"Only because he was formed from you – if you count his age from when he was first created, he's far younger than you are, and that makes him the youngest instead of you. He gets to look up to both you and Esan as big brothers, Esan gets two little brothers, and you get one of each."  
"Maybe. I'll ask Esan what he thinks about it later though. What is taking Roxas so long?"  
"No idea." Riku glanced around the room, then spotted the end of Masamune, still sticking out of the same bookcase it had become embedded in ever since Sora had taken on Sephiroth for leadership of the Arcology. "Just where is the other end of that?"  
"Hm?" Sora glanced up, then followed Riku's gaze. "Oh, Masamune? It's in the room next door. Kairi had me blunt it and build a wardrobe around it so she could hang clothes on it. I was going to have it removed, but after she'd put it to use like that, there didn't seem to be much point."  
Riku looked half amazed, and half disbelieving. "You're using Sephiroth's sword... to hang clothes on?"  
"At least it's being useful," he shrugged. "More so than it was in Sephiroth's hands, and it doesn't hurt anyone either." Roxas reappeared at last, carrying a small wooden box and a red case. "Finally," Sora murmured. "I was beginning to think you'd run off on me."  
"Me? Would I do that?"  
"Probably not. What've you got for me?"  
Roxas handed him the red case first. "Remember when you showed up a few days ago to ask me about the Cornerstone, Axel and his team were just leaving?"  
"I remember. They looked pretty battered."  
"They'd just retrieved this artefact from Agrabah. Esan mentioned it to you, Sora – the Angel's Feather, and if I heard him right, the only one in existence. It's literally yours."  
Sora removed it from the case with great care. A single white feather, only as long as his first finger, attached to an unbelievably thin, red string.  
"I wonder what I'd look like as an angel," he murmured as he held it up to examine it.  
"Try it and find out," Riku suggested. "But I think you ought to take your top off first."  
"What for?"  
"Because it doesn't have holes in the back for your wings."  
Sora glanced over his shoulder, remembering seeing Esan's wings. "I guess I hadn't thought of that. I can try it later though," he added, carefully putting it back into the case. "And the box?"  
"Roxas retrieved it from Atlantica."  
"There was an unconfirmed sighting of Seifer there."  
"I know," Roxas said. "I think I even saw him. He handed something to Ursula, and those two overgrown eels of hers took it back to her lair. They saw me poking around there and attacked me, so I had to make a quick getaway with it."  
"What's in the box then?"  
"Best steady yourself," Riku warned, opening it for him to see.  
Sora stared in at the contents for several moments. A hand that had previously been reaching for his cup instead stopped and bunched into a tight fist. He seemed to keep himself under control only by concentrating hard.  
When he finally snapped the box shut again, he spoke in quietly through clenched teeth.  
"Find me Seifer," he said. "He and I have a score to settle."  
"And Kairi?"  
"I'm putting you in charge of getting her back, Riku."  
"I'm not a member."  
"I'm the Grandmaster in these parts and if I say you're in charge of it, then you're damn well going to be in charge of it. As soon as Roxas finds me Seifer, make use of him and everything he can get you to get her back." Sora glanced up, nodded to him, then added, "Take care of her for me."


	18. Chapter 18

_Traverse Town_

The original Traverse Town had been formed from the remains of worlds that had not become a part of The End of the World, and when Sora had defeated Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, those remnants had returned with the consumed parts to re-form those worlds in their entirety, the darkness being forced to relinquish the Hearts of those who had been there.  
But not all the worlds reachable through the lanes between had a locked keyhole, and some of the restored worlds had not lasted long before some of the Heartless that had no one to command them had re-consumed them.  
This Traverse Town had been born anew, and had since been colonized as the new home of the Collective. No one expected it to exist, no one knew it still existed outside of the Collective, and until Sora's Arcology had discovered the treachery of Rai Nek, anything that came in on the place had been discarded.  
It had become the most elusive world that ever existed, simply by suppressing any information on it. Anyone who strayed too close would be subtly persuaded not to notice it, and find that whatever their means of transport, they were guided away or around the world instead.  
If anyone had managed to reach Traverse Town though, they would have found it eerily quiet. As it was inhabited solely by the Collective's members, there was no need for open conversation, no need to look for anyone.  
Rai Nek – better known outside as Seifer, of course – had taken up residence in what had once been Merlin's home away from Radiant Garden. His unwilling guest was not with him. She was kept under guard in the waterways below the town. The other entrances to those waterways were also guarded, and since it's impossible to do anything to any single Collective member without all others becoming aware of it, there were a great many people nearby who didn't look like guards, but could instantly become one if anything came up. Intruders would not find it easy to reach Kairi.  
Intruders into the Collective mind however, would not be so restricted – assuming they found a way in. Only Naminé had achieved this so far, and then only twice. Both times, she had detected their attempt at the mental equivalent of a slap in the face to warn her, and severed her connection before it had reached her. All other attempts had been blocked. They now waited for her next attempt.  
Seifer had put out the word that as their Heartless had so far failed to make it to her, the next attempt – successful or not – they would try to force the connection to remain long enough to actually catch her out. It had been met with some resistance, some members unwilling to harm her, but they had been overruled.  
_-What is the situation with the other Princesses?-_ he asked the Collective.  
_-We have secured all but Jasmine, Alice and Belle. Agents report that Arcology forces are openly at work in all three worlds. Request advice – attempt capture of the three and risk consequential actions from the Arcology?-  
__-No. Continue as planned. What of Radiant Garden?-  
__-The Keyhole has been located within the tower of Hollow Bastion. It is inaccessible without means such as a dark corridor.-  
__-Have others been found there?-  
__-None not of the Collective.-  
__-Then fortify the position.-  
_There was silence. This was not expected, or normal. Some kind of confirmation should have been returned.  
Seifer probed the Collective mind, examining it. There was a focus of thought. He listened in, joining it.  
Naminé had managed to break into the Collective's mind, and remained resistant to their attacks.  
_-I won't let you keep this up,-_ her distinctive voice broke through. _-I've told Ienzo where you are and what you've done. Sora will find out soon.-  
__-He's too far behind the times, Naminé,-_ Seifer replied, speaking on behalf of the Collective. Rai Kun had been consumed by and lost to the corridor due to Sora's intervention within, and the Collective had agreed he would speak with their voice while he remained in command. _-Even if he comes now, he'll be too late to stop me.-  
__-I can see every thought your minds have. You're missing three of the Princesses. Ienzo's already informing the Arcology's retrieval teams they have to move out and protect them from you, and to force their way to Traverse Town to retrieve the rest.-  
__-So what now, Naminé? You forced your way in somehow, only to warn us of a small risk that we've already chosen to make?-  
_The Collective pushed on Naminé's mind, seeking a way in, a way to find her thoughts. Something was blocking them, scattering them. Minds dropped out of the Collective for short times when they came into contact with it.  
_-No,-_ Naminé replied. _-I'd tell you why I'm here, but that would defeat the objectives I have. Stop me if you can – but we warned, Seifer: Sora is coming for you, and the full wrath of the Arcology comes with him. You've taken Kairi from him, and that gives him a near-boundless fury directed at you.-  
__-Let him direct it at me. The full might of the Collective is behind me.-  
__-And is currently trying to break through my defences. I can see your minds. I can cut them off as easily as you would cut off an arm or a leg.-  
__-Yet you hold back?-  
__-My objectives again. I have a goal, and this serves it. I do this for Sora, for the Arcology, and for Kairi. I'll only hold back for as long as I need to.-  
__-And how long is that?-  
__-Long enough for you to realize your mistake. You know what Sora has behind him. The Keyblade, some magic, a great deal of experience, and above all, he's the only one with complete and totally unrestricted access to the full power the Kingdom Hearts of Sora's Arcology gives him.-  
__-Warning!-_ the Collective mind interrupted. _-We are losing minds!-  
__-Get them back!-_ Seifer snapped. _-Do whatever is necessary, but keep the focus on Naminé! Break through those defences and stop her!-  
_Naminé gave the strong impression she was smiling at them as she said, _-How can you stop what you cannot understand? What you cannot see, feel or touch? Let me show you what I can do to you. Let the Muren Collective know.-  
_At first, there didn't appear to be any difference, but then for a moment massive parts of the Collective ceased to be heard, slowly flickering back in, only to be knocked out again. The full focus of the Collective, despite the interruptions, was now fully focused on countering this.

_Twilight Town  
__The Mansion's basement_

Naminé was held in a second of the memory pods, with Vexen's pod just nearby. The three Kingdom Keys were held in three locks that had appeared around the pod's base, in turn held by their wielders. The light of all three emerged within the pod, causing circles of light to orbit Naminé.  
Bright white rings from Ven's borrowed Key, from the realm of Light. Deep black ones from Mickey's Key from the Dark realm, and a grey that was between the two from Esan's Key from the realm In-between.  
For a moment, one of each of the rings returned to their Keys, then into the hands of the wielder. Almost as one voice, all three called out, "Now, Ienzo!"  
Ienzo send the message he'd had prepared in advance, containing all the information Sora would need.  
"Godspeed, Sora. Bring them back safely," he murmured, then leaned back. It was out of his hands now. Naminé and Sora were the only ones who could change anything.

_Sora's Arcology  
__Grandmaster's Office_

Roxas appeared, looking out of breath. "Sora! Word from Ienzo!"  
"Go on."  
"They're in Traverse Town. One of Axel's devices is there, but it's not one of the early ones. It's leaving it accessible only by Dark corridor, and Gummi Ship. There's more," he added as Sora got up to leave. "Seifer's in the same place Merlin lived when he was in Traverse Town, and Kairi's in the underground waterways with several of the other Princesses of Heart. Riku's already just outside the nearest world preparing your Gummi Ship for you, me and him to go there."  
He opened one draw on his desk and pulled out the red case, almost reverentially bringing out the Angel's Feather.  
"I think it's about time I picked up on the other side of my heritage," he murmured, examining it.  
"Uh, Sora? Shouldn't you change to something that's got room for the wings?"  
"I don't think I need to, Roxas. These are the clothes Yen Sid gave me, just after you first rejoined me. They're magic in themselves. While we were waiting, I contacted him and asked him about this. He confirmed they'll react to the Angel's Feather as well, and accommodate any changes it makes to me."  
"I guess that solves that problem."  
Sora nodded, slipping it over his head to join the ever-present Kingdom Crown. For a moment, nothing appeared to happen, but then Sora seemed to radiate a blue glow about him. His clothing changed, matching the same look Ven held, complete with the the armoured shoulder-piece on his left shoulder. With a sound to match, a pair of wings appeared and unfurled behind him, pure white.  
Unlike Esan's wings, which had been about twice the height of an arm, and only reaching outwards to the elbows when fully extended, Sora's reached from behind his knees, up above his head by about the same height as his head, then outwards as far as his arms would reach.  
Then the last change was his eyes. They were now completely blue – not blue within the whites of the eyes, but completely and totally blue.  
"One last thing," Sora said, his voice taking on a similar musical quality to Esan's. With a slashing motion, Wayward Wind appeared in one hand, then he put a hand to the armoured shoulder, causing what Roxas knew to be Ven's Keyblade Armour to form around him. A black suit covering everything from the neck down, with silver and gold bands protecting his front, silver gauntlets and similar matching footwear. A pair of golden bands wrapped around his knees, protecting them from harm. Only the helmet was missing, along with a small patch left unprotected where the wings met Sora's back.  
"Impressive," Roxas murmured, trying to keep the awe out of his voice. It was as if the Angel's Feather had taken everything Sora had behind him, and given him an appearance to match.  
"Let's go pay a call on the Arcology's traitor," Sora grinned. "I have a feeling he won't be expecting any of this."  
Roxas led the way to the Gummi Ship's cockpit, where Riku was waiting for them.  
"Good grief," he breathed on seeing Sora. "The Angel's Feather did all that?"  
"Some," Sora answered. "It's lending me Ven's Keyblade Armour." After a pause, he sighed, then added, "Don't just sit there and gawk, Riku. You've got four Princesses to rescue, and I've got a meeting with Seifer I have no intentions of being late for."  
"Mind if we tag along to see what you get up to once they're safe?"  
"Depends on if you get the safe quick enough. Get us underway."

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, I know my attempt to describe Ven's armour isn't exactly perfect. It's not exactly the easiest thing to describe, you know.


	19. Chapter 19

_Traverse Town_

As they disembarked the Gummi Ship, it was clear something was going on. There were many people around, some deep in concentration, others in a state of panic. Sora recognised none of them. They weren't the original residents of the town. Most bore something that bore the signature symbol of the Collective however, identifying them for him.  
"Ignore them," Sora told them. "They're just members of the Collective. Naminé is holding their attention."  
"One of Axel's devices is here," Roxas warned. "It's blocking everything we've got."  
"I know. I can feel it too. I want you two to rescue the captured Princesses first. Naminé might be able to tell you through the Collective, but I don't know if it'll work or not. Once you've got them safe, find the device, disable it, then search for the Cornerstone."  
"Do you know where you're going?" Riku asked him.  
"Third District, Merlin's old residence," Sora answered. "Don't worry about me. Go to work."  
He left them to it, already heading through the familiar paths of Traverse Town. It'd been a long time since he was here last, but not long enough to forget where to go.  
As he progressed, he noticed a lot more of the members starting to show up panicked instead of concentrating. Some of those who were a little more aware of their surroundings noticed him, then ran off screaming, "Sora is coming!"  
So much for surprising Seifer. His plan to find him unaware was further hindered by his presence within the Third District, in the same place he'd once fought the giant Guard Armour Heartless.  
"So you came at last," Seifer said. "I was beginning to think you didn't care. Interesting choice of accessories," he added, looking him over appraisingly. "I'd be impressed, but I seem to have lost my Heart along the way."  
"Makes my task all that much more easier," Sora replied. "I imagine if I tried to order you to stand down, you'd ignore me."  
"Naturally. The Collective is my master now, not you."  
"You retain everything the Arcology gave you though."  
"However, the Arcology's influence is barred here. You can order me around all you like, it won't hold any weight. You're without your greatest source of power here, Sora."  
"Our Kingdom Hearts? Hardly my greatest source," he shrugged. "That's always been my Heart, and the Hearts of my friends. That and the Keyblade... well, the rest falls in line behind that. But you and the Collective failed to take into account what I am."  
Seifer looked curious for a moment, re-examining him, then said, "You look like the same old Sora I've known all about. Borrowing Ven's Keyblade and armour, and no doubt using a number of artefacts to alter your appearance, but nothing otherwise out of the ordinary."  
"You're wrong, Seifer. There's only one artefact at work here. The Angel's Feather. One for every half-angel in existence. It allows them to reclaim the angelic side of their heritage."  
"Ah, I see... so that's how you learned the location of the Echo Islands... home called to you."  
"Perhaps. So, what now, Seifer? We could fight, but that would only lead to the inevitable outcome – which no doubt varies depending on which of us you ask."  
"Aren't you even going to try to stop me?"  
"You mean with the Princesses of Heart? I already have. Even as we speak, Roxas and Riku is taking them to safety, and those you didn't secure are under guard to prevent any last-minute additions to the crowd. Tell me something," he said then. "What was the goal of your plan? Reopening the Final Keyhole?"  
"It was meant to be a distraction. To keep you occupied until we could deal with the third Key Bearer. We hadn't counted on the exchange of Keyblades you performed though – or for that matter, your allowing the Echo Islands to be destroyed."  
"A slight oversight in judgement there," Sora conceded. "The exchange could have waited until afterwards, but we weren't aware they resided in the Realm of Light, and so the keyhole could only be locked by my Key."  
"Ah, so even the Grandmaster falls foul of a mistake."  
"Everyone does it from time to time. The question remains – what now?"  
"You've yet to reclaim the Cornerstone. Call Naminé off, and I'll arrange for it to be returned to you."  
"Naminé is undoubtedly in the process of retrieving it's whereabouts from your Collective mind right now, if she hasn't already. The moment I give her the command to complete her task, she'll pass on the information to Ven, Mickey and Esan, who will be taken by Sand to retrieve it."  
Seifer nodded in appreciation. "You've covered every base. I'm impressed. I have your answer then, Sora. All that's left is for you to find me, and we'll find out just which of us is the stronger among us."  
A dark corridor attempted to form around him, but it spluttered, fading out part way. Seifer examined his hand curiously.  
"Something wrong with your darkness, Seifer?" Sora asked innocently. He had no idea what the actual cause was, but there was nothing wrong with taking credit all the same, and so continued, "Did I forget to mention that my new-found angelhood disrupts the darkness nearby?"  
Seifer appeared to ignore him, then as if he was trying to force the words out, said, "Hollow Bastion." Then the darkness caught, recreating the corridor. Sora caught a chagrined look on his face before he vanished.  
"Thanks, Naminé," Sora murmured to himself, realising what had happened. Now he just had to wait until the device in the area was deactivated.  
After a few moments, and a bit of experimenting, he called out to Esan the same way his newfound older brother had done just after they reached the Echo Islands.  
"_How are you holding up there, Esan?"  
_There was a short pause, then, _"I haven't the foggiest. Naminé passes us little snippets to pass on to Ienzo, but aside from the Keys giving her strength and protection, we've no involvement in this at all otherwise. What about you?"  
_"_Oh, nothing much. Roxas and Riku are busy playing the knights in shining armour for the princesses, and Seifer's gone to hide in Hollow Bastion. As soon as Axel's device here is offline, I'm off after him."  
_"_Little device? Thin black cylinder, rounded ends, two buttons, four lights and three spindly legs?"  
_"_I assume so, why?"  
__"Ienzo mentioned something about it after one of Naminé's messages through us. Check up on that path that's behind the fountain. Third button from the top to disable it, or I suppose you could smash it. Axel might prefer it intact though."  
_"_Thanks, Esan."  
_"_What I'm here for. Well, that and generally annoying the Collective and so on, but that goes without saying."  
_"_Has anyone told you that you have a tendency to waffle, Esan?" _Sora asked as he headed for the path mentioned.  
"_Bit of a bad habit of mine,"_ Esan admitted. _"I get sidetracked, and end up talking about something completely unrelated for ages. I know I talk too much too. Mum used to tell me I drove her to distraction with it."  
_Sora knew what he meant. He'd been told the same once or twice when he was growing up.  
"_Found it, incidentally. Don't suppose you know what split Mum and your Dad apart?"  
_"_Yeah, but I don't really want to talk about it. I've never really forgiven him for it."  
_Sora recalled the meeting he'd had on the third of the Echo Islands, and said, _"He said to tell you he was sorry for what he did, and doubly sorry that he never said that to you."  
_There was a long silence then as he deactivated Axel's device, feeling the Arcology's power rush back to him.  
"_Seriously?"_ Esan asked eventually.  
"_I met him on the way to find you. He told me that just before he held off the darkness as long as he could to buy us some time."  
_"_Thanks for telling me, Sora. You go deal with Seifer. We'll talk later."  
_Sora nodded, heading back down toward the fountain with the device in hand. Once it had been turned off, the legs retracted back into it.  
"Dealt with him already?" Riku asked, coming into view. "Looks like we missed the fun."  
"Not yet," Sora corrected. "He's hiding in Hollow Bastion. If I know him, it'll be in the same room as the Final Keyhole. Where's Roxas?"  
"He's taking the princesses back to their home worlds. He also sent for Axel."  
"Axel? What for?"  
"He and his team are rounding up members of the Collective. Apparently, Ienzo wants to take them in to try and rehabilitate them."  
"How does he plan to do that if they're still part of the Collective?"  
"Naminé's going to sever their connection to it. That's why they'll need the rehab - they'll have been so used to it being there..."  
"Point taken. Would you hand this to Axel when he turns up?" he asked then, handing Riku the small device.  
"Hang around for a time. Once he and his team are done, we'll come with you. You can give it to him then."  
"You're going to insist, aren't you?"  
"Hey, it's not often I get to see you fight, Sora. I've fought you a few times, and fought alongside you a couple of times, but it's still a rare kinda thing. You're not cutting me out of it."  
"Oh, alright. I suppose I did say you could come along and watch. It is only Seifer, after all."  
"Mind if we join you?" Axel called, coming through the door to the First District followed by his team. "Like the wings, by the way. Can you fly on them?"  
"I assume so. I haven't tried it yet."  
"Where's the fun in that?"  
"I'm saving it up for after all this is over and done with. Along with all the other things that go with it. That, and I think it'd be a good idea to have Esan around to learn from."  
"True that," Axel agreed. "What are we waiting for?"  
"Oh, nothing. We were just catching up before we left. Now, why don't we all go pay a call on Seifer and finish this?"


	20. Chapter 20

_Hollow Bastion_

The Grand Hall, where the Final Keyhole had once been, had been found devoid of life, but contained the missing Cornerstone. Axel's team then quickly filtered through the remains of the areas, silently and stealthily searching for Sora's intended target.  
They'd found him in the Castle Chapel, and once found, returned to inform him of this.  
Sora had waited patiently, staring into the Cornerstone as he formed a new addition to the somewhat basic plan.  
"Roxas," he said at last. "You've still got your ties to the darkness, right?"  
"Yeah. But our Kingdom Hearts overrules it, barring me from actually doing anything with it."  
"Doesn't matter. That's all I needed to know. Riku, how much of Ansem is left in you?"  
"Not a bit," Riku answered. "When the real Ansem's device exploded, it totally purged him from me."  
"Inconvenient," Sora murmured. "You've still got your own ties to the darkness too though, right?"  
"What are you up to, Sora?"  
"Just answer the question."  
"I've still got it, yeah," Riku sighed. "Don't use it all that much, and I've got to counter it with the same from light whenever I do or I put myself at risk, but it's there."  
Sora thought for a few moments, then nodded to himself, "I think I can use that. Here's the plan. I think I can use some of the abilities I get from being an angel to take Roxas' darkness from him, and if I'm right, I can channel it through Riku's and a few of his and my memories to bring it out."  
"Bring what out?"  
"A certain surprise I have in store for Seifer. It's perfectly safe for all three of us, don't worry." He glanced to Roxas, then added, "You don't mind me stealing your darkness from you, do you?"  
"I'm not using it. Just be careful with it, Sora. We don't want you becoming a Nobody."  
"Don't worry – Riku already told me how to deal with it. Counter it with the same amount of light – and I've got a limitless source of light from our Kingdom Hearts."  
"Are you sure this is safe, Sora?" Axel asked him.  
"Trust me," Sora answered, turning to him. "I know what I'm doing. You're all totally safe from it as long as you don't get too close to Seifer or me. I'll be fine no matter what he throws at me."  
"Good."  
"Probably," Sora added, grinning. "Oh, one other thing, Axel. That device of yours – set it to block out the darkness, but don't activate it until I say so. Unless you can tune it to specifically block out dark corridors."  
Axel checked the device as Riku handed it over to him. Several tiny panels were opened and examined, and a small screwdriver was brought out to adjust the insides slightly.  
"Done. No more dark corridors. Not quite sure what the range is on it, but it should be the same area as Traverse Town at least."  
"Nicely done. Now, you two come here so I can nick what I need from you, and then you get to watch what happens next."

_Castle Chapel_

Seifer turned at the sound of their footsteps. It looked like he'd been expecting them.  
Riku and Roxas held back, between them Axel, and behind them Axel's team.  
"Just say the word if you need any of us," Axel told Sora as he passed them and continued toward the open area he'd faced off against Maleficent before.  
"You can't run, and you can't hide," he called to Seifer. "Wherever you try to go, I'll track you down. Wherever you hide, I'll find you."  
"I guess I'll just have to take my place in line then," Seifer replied. "Right after all the others who've tried to take you on and failed."  
"Don't think you'll come out of it any different."  
"Don't think I'm going to just let you do whatever you want."  
"Never expected you to. But I've a few more tricks for you yet. Naminé, I know you can hear me. The time's come. Do it."  
Nothing appeared to happen for a time, then Seifer's eyes widened and he took several steps back.  
"What have you done?" he whispered.  
"Quiet, isn't it?" Sora answered. "All those voices you must have grown used to hearing, silenced. All those minds you were in contact with, gone. The Muren Collective... is gone. There is no Collective any more. Every single one of you... completely separate. One mind, one person – no more."  
"You'll pay for this, Sora! The Collective can be recreated, the knowledge still exists!"  
"No, it doesn't. One of Naminé's goals was to erase that knowledge from the mind before she dissolved the connections. There's nothing left any more. Only she knows anything about it, and she'll never tell – not even me."  
"It was discovered once before, and anything can be rediscovered."  
"That takes time though, and even then after today, any new Collective would be hard pressed to find enough people willing to stand against me. You're a Nobody alone, Seifer. You've got nothing left. Give up."  
"I'd rather die first."  
"That can be arranged," Sora told him, unconcerned. "When would be convenient for you?" Seifer stared at him, looking amazed as Wayward Wind came to Sora's hand. "How about right now?" Sora went on. "After all... you're not getting out of here until I'm satisfied, and if you'd rather die than do as I say... well, no sense in wasting time."  
"You wouldn't dare. Not you. You'd never..."  
"Kill you? Why not? You're just a Nobody, and I was responsible for most of the Nobodies of the Organization being destroyed. What makes you think you're any different?"  
Sora advanced, bearing down on him as Seifer backed away.  
He stopped backing away when he hit the back wall, then closed his eyes for only the briefest moment. When they reopened, he made a slashing movement, a line of darkness wrapping itself around one hand, then extending outward into a whip which cracked just in front of Sora.  
"No," he said firmly. "I won't let you do this to me. You can't stop the darkness, you can't stop me, not this time."  
"I'm so glad you said that," Sora answered quietly, then completely ignoring his magic, his light and the darkness he'd taken from Roxas, even all the Angel's Feather gave him, he took hold of Wayward Wind and continued to bear down on Seifer. The dark whip was lashed at him, but the armour borrowed from Ventus barred it from harming him. Sora struck out at Seifer, but the strikes were blocked not with the whip but with his free hand, and a strength lent to him by the darkness.  
Once cornered, Seifer leapt up into the air and over him, making a dash for the others. Sora quickly leapt up after him, but unlike Seifer he extended his wings, gliding somewhat unsteadily down behind him, picking him up from behind, then drew up sharply into the air, flapping the great wings behind him to gain height.  
He attempted to drop Seifer, but it seemed he'd picked up on the same trick many other users of the darkness before him had, remaining in the air by it's power alone. Sora wasn't done yet though, continuing up further, then diving down toward him, picking up speed rapidly.  
Seifer only just got clear in time, but not quick enough that a quick reaction allowed Sora to kick him on his way past. As he pulled back up again, Seifer started throwing disks of darkness at him, reminiscent of Tron's identity disc, but naturally darker in colour.  
After the first caught Sora squarely between the wings, he turned over and sent the rest flying back at Seifer, though none of them found the intended target. Sora followed this up with short bursts of light fired from the Keyblade, similar to those used to lock keyholes. These too mostly missed.  
Seifer then became engulfed in the darkness, as if using a dark corridor, but it cleared again afterwards, leaving him still there, but changed. He now wore purple armour, reminiscent of the Guard Armour Heartless, complete with sharpened claws on the gauntlets in place of the whip that he'd wielded before.  
This was an unexpected change, but hardly uncounterable. During a quieter time, Naminé had assisted him in retrieving the memories of what had taken place within Castle Oblivion, and was therefore able to draw on his battles with Larxene. She'd wielded knives, but the tactical knowledge was just as applicable here.  
Seifer shot forward at him, claws raking at him, but once more the armour stopped him short of doing any actual harm. Seifer's own armour would have prevented him from harming Seifer the same, but there were gaps in it – on the arms, and the legs.  
Once he realised this, he changed tactics again, this time vanishing completely when the darkness cleared. Sora had suspected something like this would happen, alighting on a narrow ledge part way up.  
"What's wrong, Sora?" Seifer's voice called out. "Surely you don't think I've just left."  
"No," Sora answered. "But I don't need to find you. Time for another of the tricks I stocked up." He pulled on the darkness himself now, taking care to draw on the light in equal measure so it wouldn't harm him, then filtered it through the memories he'd borrowed from Riku at the same time.  
"Darkness, Sora?" Seifer called, apparently noticing it though there was no outward sign. "I thought you were above such things."  
"Sometimes when you face the darkness, you have to use the darkness against itself," Sora replied. "Why don't you show yourself, Seifer – or are you too afraid to face me?"  
"Maybe it's you that's afraid you'll lose if you can't see me."  
"I don't need to see you to fight you," he said, then called out, "Come Guardian!"  
Below them both, Riku and Roxas were both taken aback. They'd both heard it said before, and Riku had even made use of it himself once. They knew what it meant, and why Sora had taken Roxas' darkness from him now.  
Sure enough, the Guardian that had accompanied Ansem, Seeker of Darkness sprouted from Sora's Shadow. It bore no change of appearance, no sign that it was now under Sora's command instead except to head up into the air after Sora pointed upwards.  
Sora took off after it, following it up as it spiralled around until it collided with something unseen, which the Guardian took hold of and threw against one wall, where it materialized into Seifer. Sora returned to his assault, while the Guardian took up position behind him, just beyond reach of the wings. It landed powerful punches on Seifer even as Sora lashed out with the Keyblade, until Seifer dropped sharply downwards and out of reach, once more engulfed by a sphere of darkness.  
This one was larger than the previous ones, and when it cleared it left several figures behind instead of just Seifer. Each of them wore the signature coat of the Organization, making it impossible to tell which one was him.  
Then each of them drew weapons. There were thirteen of them, one for each member of the Organization, and each of them bore the weapon of one of the members. All except one, who drew no weapon – in part because it was probably Seifer, who could not wield a Keyblade anyway, and in part because Roxas was stood below watching, and had never been defeated like each of the other members.  
To further weigh the odds against him, each of the twelve with weapons then seemed to split and divide into two identical figures, each bearing the same weapon of the member they represented. One of each headed up toward him and the Guardian, while the other of the pairs dropped down toward the others by the door, who also armed themselves rapidly, dealing with their half of the recreated Nobodies.  
Sora directed the Guardian to deal with the replicas of Vexen, Zexion, Demyx, Xigbar and Luxord, the ones that were less oriented on direct combat, while he dealt with the others himself. The lances of Xaldin were quickly avoided, closely followed by Lexaeus' massive sword and Saïx's claymore as he dropped down, quickly destroying one of the two Axel replicas by impaling it in the head with the Keyblade.  
Marluxia came next, after being smashed into Larxene and both into the wall, destroying both. Xemnas with the twin ethereal blades barred his path then, forcing him to counter the strikes it made before he lost patience and channelled the raw light from their Kingdom Hearts through the Keyblade and into him. He quickly took control of this beam of light, guiding it swiftly upwards and through Lexaeus and Xaldin, finishing off Vexen for the Guardian and then Saïx. The Guardian had destroyed the other replicas in that time, leaving only those fighting his friends, and Seifer himself, who was watching that other fight instead of Sora.  
"Aid them," Sora told the Guardian, pointing toward his friends. "Help them get rid of those replicas." If the Guardian had anything against him, it showed no sign of it, obeying the command without question.  
Sora then headed upwards once more, concentrating every last bit of power he could draw on, focusing it, and channelling it right into Wayward Wind, not sending it out as a beam of light this time but keeping it contained within, making it glow in the same blue as his eyes.  
When he reached the top of the Chapel, he paused, looking below. Seifer was still unaware of him, watching the fight below. Only the second replicas of Xaldin and Saïx were left now.  
He took advantage of this distraction, taking hold of Wayward Wind in both hands, pointing it toward Seifer, then he dived downwards, the air whistling as it rushed past him.  
The last two replicas were destroyed, then all faces turned upward to see Sora shooting down, enveloped in a blue glow from the Keyblade that made him look like a streaking comet.  
As Seifer looked up, the hood on his coat fell back, revealing only for a moment the surprise of what he saw, then the blue comet caught him and slammed him to the ground in a blaze of blue light that blinded everyone.  
Not a sound was heard for a long time afterwards, as they waited for their vision to return.  
When normal sight finally came back, they saw only a crater in the floor where the impact had been, with Wayward Wind sticking into the ground. Hanging from it's handle was the Angel's Feather and Sora's Kingdom Crown.  
They stared at the sight in silence for a few moments, then the Guardian ignored them and headed off down a different corridor, leaving them to follow curiously.


	21. Chapter 21

_Hollow Bastion  
__Grand Hall_

Roxas had retrieved the discarded Keyblade on their way out, carrying it lightly in one hand, the Angel's Feather and crown hanging lightly in the other hand. He wasn't going to leave them lying around for anyone to find.  
The Guardian that Sora had summoned appeared unconcerned by the small crowd following it, and either seemed to know where to go, or was just wandering around aimlessly. Given what was known about it though, the former was more likely, heading after Sora.  
Sand joined them only briefly, adding Ventus, Mickey and Esan to their crowd before he left. Wayward Wind was offered to Ventus, but he silently shook his head, holding up Sora's Kingdom Key in emphasis.  
After several more silent moments, Esan glanced through each of them then broke the silence. "Has everyone gone mute or something?"  
Roxas showed him the crown and the Feather. "These and Ven's Keyblade were left back there after an attack Sora made. We've no idea where he or Seifer is."  
"And that... thing?"  
"Sora called it," Riku said. "It used to be Ansem's Guardian. I used it once when DiZ sent me to capture Roxas, but I've no idea what happened to it after that."  
"At least until now," Axel added quietly. "I don't think any of us was expecting that."  
"That's one of the nice things about watching Sora fight," Riku replied. "Especially in more recent times. You never know what he'll come up with this time."  
"Why are we following it?" Esan asked. "Does it know what happened to Sora?"  
"Probably."  
The Guardian stopped, then ducked down into it's own shadow on the ground. After only a few moments, Roxas called out, "Duck!"  
"Quack, quack," Axel muttered as they threw themselves to the floor, not a moment too soon. A blast of darkness shot past above them.  
Another moment's pause, then Axel started to get up. Roxas waved him back down again, and just afterwards a second blast came past, followed by a lighter one that instead of blasting past, it blotted out the sound instead.  
The Guardian reappeared ahead of them, and continued on as if nothing had happened. They warily followed, ready to get down again if it ducked back into the shadow, but it soon became apparent there was no need.  
Before the site of the Final Keyhole, Sora and Seifer, were both completely unarmed, battering away at each other in what could only be called a brawl – if those involved in a brawl were known to have their fists surrounded with light. In Seifer's case, they were both darkness instead of light, but Sora had one of each.  
The Guardian took up it's accustomed place behind Sora, joining the brawl as the rest of them looked on, trying to figure out who was winning.  
Both had clear signs of injury on them. Seifer was bleeding from one corner of the mouth, and there was a large gash in the front of his shirt. Sora already had one eye that looked like it was turning black and Seifer seemed to have broken his nose at some point, though he paid these things no attention at all.  
Seifer dropped down onto his hands to avoid the fists of the Guardian, kicking out at Sora's legs, but Sora got clear easily moving aside but remaining close enough to kick him in the face. This kick was barely avoided, causing Sora to stumble only slightly.  
He got back away from Sora and the Guardian, bringing his hands together to blast another barrage of darkness at Sora. First a mass of small spheres, easily countered by a simple shield projected from the hand surrounded by light, then another beam of it fired at him.  
"Guardian!" Sora snapped shortly before it reached. The Guardian faded through him to take up position in front. As it was itself a creature of darkness, it simply absorbed the blast, allowing Sora to avoid further injury.  
As soon as it had cleared, the Guardian returned behind him, and Sora followed Seifer's attack with one of his own, identical to his but formed from both light and darkness together. Lacking the Guardian, Seifer was caught full on this time, still recovering from his own attack, flung against one wall with a loud crack.  
Sora didn't waste any time, already heading toward the fallen figure and continuing to pummel on it, the Guardian following suit until Seifer finally managed to start blocking the blows, though clearly with a great deal of effort.  
Without a word to the Guardian, or perhaps by it's own choice, Seifer was grabbed in it's massive hands and thrown across the room once more. This time, he didn't get up, but neither did he fade as most Nobodies did when defeated.  
The dark light surrounding Sora's left hand faded, replaced with a light one that matched the other hand, then from them he fired out a massive searingly bright light toward the unmoving form. The Guardian held hands up to protect it's own eyes, then faded out and away, leaving Sora alone.  
When the light faded, there was nothing left of Seifer. Sora was left kneeling not far from the keyhole, breathing hard. The Guardian, it appeared, had decided to vanish once more. Where to this time was as much of a guess as it had been before.  
"It's safe now," his voice came to them, though it sounded faint, and not entirely clear. "He's gone."  
"We'll leave you to deal with him," Axel murmured to Roxas. "Ienzo's asked for our help."  
Roxas nodded, then when they remained there, curiously asked, "Aren't you going?"  
Axel looked troubled. "It... doesn't seem to be working..."  
Roxas tried to port himself, and found that there was no reaction for him either.  
"Ah, I see," Esan nodded. "Your power comes from Kingdom Hearts, doesn't it?"  
"Their Arcology's one, at least," Riku answered.  
"And Sora was drawing on it heavily. Perhaps too heavily. It's going to need time to recover."  
"I'm going to check up on him," Mickey said. "He might need some help."  
"No," Esan said, holding him lightly back. "Stay here. Roxas, Ventus – his effects, if you please?"  
The Kingdom Key, crown and Feather were handed to him.  
"What are you going to do?" Roxas asked him warily.  
"Check on him. I'm his older brother – it's my responsibility. That, and without that power, none of you are properly equipped to give him any assistance he might need."  
He gave them a moment to take that, then in one leap, joined Sora before the keyhole. Sora glanced up at him with unfocused eyes, then gave a weak laugh.  
"I should have known you'd come up here first. I'm fine, Esan."  
"No, you're not. Anyone can see that. You left these behind," he added, handing over his belongings.  
"I didn't even notice," Sora murmured taking them back. He kept the Feather in hand though, not putting it back with the crown again. "I had other things on my mind."  
"We did sort of notice. You did take care with that darkness you used, didn't you?"  
"Don't you start too," he sighed. "Of course I was careful."  
"And that Guardian? You can't tell me that wasn't without it's risks."  
"I countered the risks too, Esan. Stop worrying about me."  
"Haven't you heard? Worrying is what older brothers do. Besides, this is nothing compared to what Kairi is going to say."  
After a wait, he answered, "I guess I can't persuade you to keep it from her, huh?"  
"Even if you did, you've still got the others down there to persuade as well."  
Sora shook his head and sighed again. "I guess I'll just have to live with what I've done then. Come on. Give me a hand up."  
"You're not going anywhere just yet."  
"You said it yourself. I'm not fine. You can give me a hand up so I can get everyone back to the Arcology, then I'll go to the infirmary."  
"I'm not going to let you. You've done enough for the day. Your condition isn't life-threatening, so you can wait until they recover their command over your power to get you back."  
"Would you mind if I gave them a few orders first?"  
"What would those be?"  
"I'm thinking that maybe Axel and his boys should take Mickey and the Cornerstone back to it's proper place. Roxas can bring you, me, Ventus and Riku along."  
"That's the idea. You ought to keep off doing anything big for a bit. Let yourself recover from it."  
"I've got an Arcology to run, Esan," Sora protested. "Not to mention I promised Jack I'd help him with the Halloween festival in Halloween town."  
"At least get others to lend a hand, Sora. You shouldn't be doing too much."  
"Fine," he gave in. "If nothing else because you're going to nag me about it constantly."

_Halloween Town  
__One week since the dissolvement of the Collective mind_

Riku once again accompanied Roxas to the outskirts of Halloween Town, with Terra, Aqua and Ventus brought along by Sand. Esan and Kairi supported Sora from either side, as he still hadn't fully recovered from everything he'd done. He had a faint grin playing over his face as they approached the main square of the town, clearly knowing what was going to happen. He refused to tell any of them what that was going to be though.  
The strange stumps with the Heartless emblem on were still scattered around the square, though since the last visit they had been supplemented with many more stumps that bore the Nobody sign that doubled as the emblem for the Organization. The square was otherwise completely deserted.  
"Keep on going," Sora told them almost eagerly. "It doesn't begin until we're near the fountain."  
"What doesn't begin?" Kairi asked him yet again.  
"Not telling," he grinned back. "You'll have to wait and see."  
Once there, they gathered around the fountain in the middle, looking around for any sign of what was going to happen.  
On each of the Heartless stumps suddenly appeared a variety of Emblem Heartless, though they lacked the unusual sound they normally appeared with, and atop the Nobody ones appeared Dusk and Dancer Nobodies.  
Oddly, no one's Keyblades reacted to their presence, and even more strange was that each one remained on the stump it had appeared on, not moving for any of them.  
All except Sora jumped at the sudden sound of rushing water from the fountain as Jack burst forth from it.  
"And now, in the making for several years," he announced, "And with thanks to our friend Sora... I give you, the dancing Heartless! Go on, join in!"  
Riku warily approached one of the Heartless, then spotted something about it and burst out laughing.  
"This?" he asked Sora. "This is your surprise?"  
"You weren't expecting it, were you?" he grinned back.  
"What's so funny?" Roxas asked Riku.  
"They're not real Heartless – or Nobodies."  
"Well, I had to do _something_," Sora explained. "Since the real thing was too risky, and Jack wanted something he'd never done before..."  
"It was the plan I originally had when Sora first visited," Jack told them. "But with a little work, we made it as real as we could at last."

* * *

**A/N: **And at long last, we find ourselves at the end of what's become the 'The Dark' series. The Muren Collective dissolved, it's commander Seifer obliterated by Sora, its members being given rehab to get used to being completely separate again, Sora's brother found, and Jack finally got the dancing Heartless he was after way back in Kingdom Hearts 1.  
This time, I'm really not planning anything to follow on from this. The story's done and told now. Maybe from time to time I'll borrow it a bit, like for the See the Other Side story of mine, but otherwise it's all finished now.

Hope you've all enjoyed reading it, and if you haven't read the two stories that come before this one yet - well, what are you waiting for?

And no, before anyone asks, I'm not thinking of expanding on the biography that started this story. Interesting as it might be to see Sora's complete biography, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere for someone to write it, with the possible exception of any parts to do with these stories.

And with that, this is me, signing off. Until the next time!


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: **I know, I made out that I had no intentions of continuing the series, the last chapter was the end and all that, but I had some ideas. Some very interesting ideas.  
Did you know for example that at no point are the origins of The World that Never Was mentioned? Combine that one point with just a few of the ideas I've given form below, and you may just have some idea of what I might soon be working on...

* * *

_Twilight Town  
__Sunset Hill_

The hill was deserted, even by the animal kingdom. Birds had been seen flocking away from it earlier that day, and anyone trying to walk their pets there found them strangely resistant to the idea, eager to get away from the place. The plant life, being rooted to the spot and unable to leave, was just as determined to keep away, seeming to sway away from the top of the hill.  
Once all other life had left the area, a single dark corridor opened at the peak. One figure emerged from it, wearing a black coat with the hood raised. It was reminiscent of those worn by the Organization but without any adornments. It would be called severely plain if not for the white skull emblazoned on the back.  
In one hand, it held a skateboard with the Heartless emblem etched in red on one end, and the Organization's Nobody sign in white on the other. Just visible underneath the coat were a pair of white skate shoes, each with its own collection of marks that showed the wearer had been in their fair share of near-misses while on the board, if not a few actual accidents.  
It banished the corridor behind it with an absent wave of the free hand, then turned it upward. Before him, a multitude of spheres appeared. Ten of them were purest black, and almost as soon as they had appeared the figure dismissed them by tapping on them. Now only six remained. Five of them appeared to display a person and the surroundings, but one showed a place.  
The hood turned to each sphere in turn, examining them. As attention turned to each, they enlarged to show the subject better. The people were investigated first.  
In the first orb, he saw an ornate office, bedecked in blues, reds and bands of gold separating the two colours. Seated at a desk was the subject, examining a pad as he took a drink. It was the Keyblade Master and Grandmaster of Artefact Arcology, Sora. His orb was dismissed as it turned to the next.  
Second was a figure wearing a true Organization XIII coat, deep in conversation with an unknown person. The blond hair framing his face left little doubt that it was the Chilly Academic, Vexen.  
The third and fourth spheres were examined together, as the subjects were in the same place, apparently arguing. It appeared that the Cloaked Schemer had foregone his name and returned to his true name of Ienzo. The other figure had put all but his name aside, returning to his own previous persona. Though the Flurry of Dancing Flames had put everything else behind him, Axel was still distinctly recognisable.  
The last sphere centred on a person was eating ice cream on the top of a tower. The hood turned upward to Twilight Town's clock tower, seeing the same person in the distance. The Key of Destiny, Roxas, somehow separate from Sora except by the original ties that had created him. One hand reached up into the hood as if scratching at the chin curiously for a moment then this sphere was also dismissed, leaving only the lone sphere that had displayed a place.  
It was clearly obvious that The Castle that Never Was lay in ruins. Only a few stray chunks remained intact, hovering over Dark City. Despite the wide perspective showing The World that Never Was in its entirety, it was clearly obvious that neither Nobody or Heartless was there any longer. The entire world was abandoned.  
The figure dismissed this sphere too, leaving the space around him devoid of spheres once more. There was an indeterminate 'hmm' as it thought, fingers idly fidgeting with the skateboard, tapping on it without clear pattern or rhythm.  
At last the hood was pulled back, revealing slicked back hair in a bleached white, a pierced ear with a thin golden ring hanging from it, and the weather beaten but confident green-eyed face of the young man wearing the coat. There was a thin scar above one eye, heading up diagonally to vanish in the hair. Though his expression was more of a confident smirk, his eyes were hard, harsh and aware, flicking around his surroundings as he took them in.  
He spun the board around with the other hand, then let it drop to the ground. As one foot followed it to hold it down, a finger on the free hand flicked toward the coat. The zip rapidly undid itself. While it did so, the black gloves were removed and pocketed, then once the zip was fully undone the coat was discarded entirely. It vanished almost as soon as it no longer held any contact with him.  
Underneath the coat, he'd been wearing baggy jeans sporting many small tears and a black studded belt holding it up. Not up enough to fully hide the white boxers peeking into view between the jeans and the black hoodie he wore that had the same skull on the back as the coat had. On the front in gold, there was lettering that read, 'Nil' on the first line, then below, 'Oblivion' and finally underneath that 'The Forceful Fighter'.  
"JJ's back," he murmured, running one hand through his hair. "And I'm not here for a vacation."  
One hand was flung back behind him as he stepped fully onto the board. A brief pulse of air seemed to shoot from the hand, propelling him forward and down the hill. He flipped over a fence, landing for a moment on the top of a grassy ledge, then continued on.  
As he left, the plant life slowly and cautiously started to swing back again, closely followed by a few wary birds. They all perched silently wherever they could, watching the self-identified JJ head down the hill and out of sight. They looked to each other, conversing silently. If their expressions had been readable, they would have been afraid.  
Some few of them looked down to the ledge he'd been on momentarily. The grass was dying out, radiating from where he had landed in a kind of unseen wave. The small bushes and shrubs on it shrivelled up and died out as it reached them, until the entire ledge was nothing but dead plants. The effect did not continue any further from there.  
On the still living lawn opposite, a small boy extricated him from a bush. He had black hair and wore a red shirt under a silver jacket, but was otherwise identical to the new arrival that had passed by. He was almost like a smaller, younger version.  
"JJ's back," he whispered excitedly, looking down into Twilight Town after him. "Boss man's back..."  
He ran down into the town, weaving through the various people around until he came to the garage, where he sneaked past everyone to a small stack of wooden crates in one corner. There was just enough of a gap between them for him to squeeze through and out behind them, then down some steep stairs to a hidden underground room.  
It looked like it had once been a part of the tunnels, but except for a small waterway bubbling quietly through a trough on the far side through two grills, it had been sealed off from them.  
There was a filing cabinet in one corner, and centred in the room was a squat table. Chunks of tree logs were placed around it to serve as rudimentary chairs.  
At one of them was sat Fuu. Once Seifer's crony, since his mysterious disappearance some time ago she had struck out on her own. At least, to the town that was what had happened. Down here, she returned to activities she'd been involved in before encountering Seifer.  
Fuu glanced up as the young boy hurried in, looking curiously at him.  
"JJ's back," he told her breathlessly. "I saw it happen with my own eyes. Up on Sunset Hill."  
"Certain?" she asked shortly.  
"No doubt at all," he answered.  
She considered this for a moment, then said "Alert the old crowd, Little Lee."  
Little Lee nodded, dashing out again.


End file.
